Freshman point guard Trevon Duval drove the ball to the hoop from the right wing and went for the layup…or not! He faked the layup, completing a behind-the-back pass to a waiting Senior small forward Elijah Cain in the lane. Elijah then went for the layup and got the bucket, despite a hard slap on the arm.

Defense breakdowns like this and a volley of 3-pointers led the Gray Bees to an 83-52 victory over NIA Prep on December 17.

However, this is only one of the numerous recent blowout victories the Gray Bees delivered this evening. Coach Mark Taylor said that the team now sometimes goes into games knowing they’ll win. It showed against NIA Prep.

“We knew we were going to win,” Coach Taylor said. “We went up 11-0, then laid back and let them [NIA Prep.] score 6 in a row, then started playing again. We played in spurts.”

He said that attitude is what cost them their first loss of the season just weeks prior to Milford Mill Academy in Maryland. Senior point guard Jonathan Williams said that the attitude can cost the team many more.

“We have big games coming up in January,” Jonathan said. “Some teams are going to come back.”

Despite these concerns, there were some high points in the game. Elijah said that the team dynamic was more present than ever against NIA Prep. Jonathan agrees.

“Our bigs played well,” Jonathan said. “Guys also played well off the bench.”

Nevertheless, there is still room for improvement even in the well-played aspects of this night’s performance. Elijah says that defense can improve, and will only make the team better.

“When we play defense [better], the blowouts will get bigger,”  Elijah said.