As the season comes to a close, we take a look back at one of the most successful seasons a team has had at BIC in the Junior High Boys. Through hard work and dedication during the offseason they looked to perform at the highest level night-in and night-out. Led by head coach Taylor Layne and assistant Andrew Mcfarlin, the boys were able to post an incredible 30-1 record.
There were many factors to the success this season, one including the fast pace the boys played at. Fifteen different games were played without a timeout being called. Another is the rigorous defense of the team, with several games keeping their opponent under a double digit score. This is much to the credit of multiple players recording steals and blocks every game. Lastly, the bench was a big factor for the team. They scored thirty-three percent of the points this year
(15.8 ppg), often having a player come off the bench to score in the double digits, like Caleb Petznick’s twelve points against Mammoth Springs and Tysn Sipes’ thirteen against Armorel.
The freshman led the way this year, with five getting awarded an All-Conference award: Wicker Craig, Rylan Hawkins, Jake Hurst, and Noah Ibanez. Eighth Grader Gatlyn Hawkins also received the All-Conference honor. Rylan Hawkings led the scoring with 9.3 points per game, capped off with a 28 point game at home against Cross County. Wicker Craig and Tysn Sipes followed, both averaging 6.9 points per game. As a whole, the freshman scored 68% of the points, knocking down 80% of the threes along the way. They scored double digits in 35 games,/. including three of 20 or more points, as well as four games in the postseason.
The boys started the season on a tear winning the Bill McCurly tournament with ease, beating Sloan Hendrix to hoist the trophy. They moved through the rest of November and December with little competition, beating Armorel and Cross County both by more than 50 points. They then moved on to be the Gerald Jennings Invitational Champions, beating Gosnell by 33. After Christmas break they fell to Manila, their first and only loss of the season. They quickly bounced back for two conference wins against Cross County and Piggott, beating them by 36 and 41 respectively. They continued through the rest of the year taking down everyone in their path. They reached the end going 16-0 in conference , becoming Conference Champions, and took the number one seed in the District Tournament. They won 55-14 to advance to the semi-finals. There they played Bay, beating them 49-18. This put them in the finals against one of the tougher matchups in the conference, Corning. The boys had only won by five the last time they’d played them. However, they came out victorious nonetheless, beating the Bobcats 28-21. This crowned them the District Champions, capping off such a great season and leading to one of Freshman guard Jake Hurst’s favorite memories from the season, dumping water all over Coach Layne after their big win.
