by Matthew Parsons

The Braves hope to get back in the victory column at home tonight against JSerra after having a tough start to the Trinity League season, including a heartbreaking loss to the “Team in Red” last Friday.

Head Coach Matt Dunn is confident in his team’s ability to persist and play their best basketball moving forward. He believes that every team is very evenly matched in Trinity League. Thus, it is extremely competitive. For the Braves, every week is going to be a battle to be able to come up on top.

The “Team in Red” is off to a strong start, ranked 1st in the Trinity League, Bosco being ranked 4th. The Braves are coming off a tough loss to the “Team in Red”, 61-59.

This season the Braves have had players in and out of games from both injuries and COVID-19. The team has struggled to maintain consistency due to factors out of their control, though their players are all coming back to form and should all be playing together again soon.

“It’s been a challenge with all that’s going on, with COVID and everything. I’m really proud of our group. We’re really plugging away. We’re going to play some really good basketball, and I’m excited for the rest of the year,” said Coach Dunn.

Injuries played a very big part in the team’s most recent loss against the “Team in Red.” Two of their biggest contributors in Elzie Harrington and Jack Turner missing due to a foot injury and a concussion, respectively. 

“With injuries, everything is so inconsistent. The flow breaks, and it just messes up our game,” said senior Marco Kenz.

It’s also been a struggle to synergize for the team, being that it’s created from a mix of a lot of seniors and freshmen.

“We have a young team – three freshmen – and everyone is still trying to figure each other out,” said Kenz.

The team has many great players, including their freshmen. Their leading scorers are Jack Turner, Christian Estrada, Elzie Harrington and Kade Bonam. With the exception of Estrada, they’re all underclassmen, with Turner being a sophomore, giving the Braves a strong young core for the future.

It’s not just the underclassmen who play a big role, seniors Marco Kenz and DJ Henry are important leaders to the Braves’ team. They help anchor the Braves stout defense, which they frequently play to as a strength.

“We’ve got a really good defensive team, and if we shoot the ball a little bit better, I think we have a really good chance,” said Coach Dunn.

The players have high hopes for the remainder of the season and are confident in their potential to reset after this rough start to Trinity League play. They’re looking forward and are confident in their abilities to win out from here on out. 

The Braves’ tip off against JSerra on tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Bosco, and will face Orange Lutheran at home again Thursday at 7:00 p.m.