It has been a tumultuous last couple weeks for the New Trier boys basketball team.
It began on Jan. 26, when New Trier hosted Amundsen (Chicago). In a classy move by New Trier coach Scott Fricke, the starting five for the Trevians was an all-senior line up consisting of Patrick Kelley, Aiden Degenaars, Tommy Wellington, Lucas Stone and Andrew Hauser, the first start for each of them this season.
Fricke’s decision payed off as Kelley took control of the Trevians offense, tallying eleven first quarter points. Wellington, Degenaars, and Hauser also contributed to the score for the Trevians.
Amundsen was able to keep it close with their three point shooting, and New Trier led 21-13 at the end of the first quarter.
“We started some seniors tonight and I think those guys really came through,” said Fricke. “P.K. [our leading scorer] had thirteen tonight and Wellington had eleven. It was great to see some seniors who work really hard everyday score some points and contribute.”
When asked about their overall performance, Fricke commented, “I think we started off a little flat. I told our team, ‘This team is better than you thought they were’. We let them shoot the three too much uncontested, but then we picked up our stuff.”
In the second quarter the usual Trevian starters took the court and continued to build their lead. Senior Ryan Haak had a productive second quarter with eight points and a block. The Trevians also managed to slow down the perimeter shooting of Amundsen, and when time expired the Trevians led 39-31.
The Trevians blew the game open in the third quarter and continued their domination into the fourth. With 4:16, Fricke subbed in juniors Will Nicolaides and Drew Favakeh. Despite minimal playing time, Nicolaides scored four points and Fakaveh drew two fouls contributing to an 82-52 Trevians victory.
On Jan. 31, New Trier traveled to Maine South for a chance to keep their conference title hopes alive. Maine South and their raucous fan base were out for revenge after the Trevians handed them their second loss of their season in a triple overtime triller earlier this season.
The game was intense and physical from the tip off, culminating when senior Robbie Abuls went down after a hard foul on a breakaway lay-up attempt. However, Trevian mistakes were prevalent in the first quarter with bad passes, travels, and missed shots. Junior George Sargeant led the Hawks with six first quarter points, and Maine South jumped ahead 11-5.
In the second quarter, New Trier cut down on mistakes and pulled back points to cut the Maine South lead to only three, primarily a result of the effort of senior David Hammes, who ended the game with six three-pointers.
Throughout the third and fourth quarter, Maine South continually stretched their lead. With 1:42 remaining in the game, the Hawks led 44-34. George Sargeant was dominant in the paint, with ten points.
“What makes Sargeant effective is his size, but also how he’s able to use it,” said senior Sean Boyd. “He’s got great footwork and puts himself in a good position to score before he gets the ball, making him a lot tougher to guard.”
With under a minute remaining the Trevians battled back to come within four. It would be too little too late, as New Trier fell 50-45 dropping them to 14-8 overall.
“Ultimately we just missed a few too many shots,” said Haak. “We got the looks we wanted all night, we just didn’t convert enough.”
Although this season has not gone as many of the Trevian faithful had hoped, the season is far from over. Haak and his teammates know what is expected of them for postseason success.
“We’re going to have our work cut out for us,” concluded Haak. “With the losses we had in the beginning of the season, we may not have a very favorable seed. That being said, we have been playing at a very high level for the past month and a half or so. We have all of the ingredients to make a run once the playoffs come along, regardless of what seed we get.”