After finishing second in the Hacienda League last season with an overall record of 11-3, the Brahma boys basketball team is looking to continue their preseason dominance and maintain the same goals they’ve always had: to win League and compete for a CIF title. 

Coming off rigorous summer and fall training, the team is primarily focusing on strength training and conditioning to increase their late-game endurance.

“We saw that [our endurance] was a weakness we’ve had for the past two years and we’ve really focused on that,” head basketball coach Henry Frierson said. “The kids have responded well and we’re seeing things on the floor that we haven’t seen in a long time.”

To his point, Frierson credited most of the team’s success to their sheer length—both in height and wingspan. 

Despite running an unorthodox style of play with junior Alex Kim as a “sort of point-forward,” the team has succeeded in scoring points and defending the ball. 

Frierson also highlighted the skills of a few stand-out players, including juniors Malcolm Bell and Dior Brown as well as senior Dylan Stout.

“[Malcolm] is kind of like a jack of all trades, where he can score on one end and can defend on the other side,” Frierson said. “We also have a really good defender in Dior Brown and Dylan Stout who’s done really well with helping us out in the scoring category.”

The team has had a few preseason games, including a loss against Ayala, 45-76, and an unscored scrimmage against Northwood. 

In spite of this, the team began their season with a loss against Ayala, 54-59, and a win against Alta Loma, 69-60.

Aside from winning more regular season games and being League champions, Frierson and the team aspire to win CIF titles as well. 

“We don’t shy away from our goals and it’s the same standard that we have every year,” Frierson said. “We want to shoot for the stars but if we fall to the moon it’s okay.”

The Brahmas have an overall record of 1-1 and played the San Dimas Saints on Tuesday, Dec. 7.