GHS boys basketball has gotten off to a slower start than the squad had anticipated. After dropping four of their first six games, Coach Joe Bradburn and the Woodmen are looking to turn the season around with six games remaining.

Sitting at 1-3 in Conference play, the Woodmen look to improve their record tonight when they face off against the 3-11 (1-3) Perry Meridian Falcons. 

“Perry is always a really talented team,” senior Carter Campbell, forward, said. “They have good athletes on their team and their record might not show it but they’re a tough battle.”

Playing in the Mid-State conference is no easy test no matter the sport. From football to basketball, the conference is stacked with talented teams, and every night is bound to be a battle.

“We definitely cannot take them for granted,” sophomore Wyatt Peterson, guard, said. “Our conference is tough top to bottom, like the Big Ten is in college basketball. First to last place could win on any given night.” 

The Falcons are coming off a matchup against non-conference foe Columbus North who previously beat the Woodmen earlier this year. Coming off the loss, Perry will look to bounce back from the tough loss.

“They have a really good point guard shooting above 55 percent from the field and also their wing who is almost a 40 percent shooter from beyond the stripe,” Campbell said. “He can shoot, rebound, drop assists and is lockdown on defense.” 

The storyline for the Woodmen so far has been the turnover. Controlling the ball and limiting the number of giveaways and also takeaways on defense may be the deciding factor.

“We really need to take better care of the ball,” junior Cade Kelly, guard, said. “We didn’t do well a couple games ago against Edinburgh with limiting turnovers. We gave the ball up way too much, and it almost cost us the game. If we can keep the ball and get into our offense, we’ll be just fine (tonight).”

When playing teams that are smaller in size, Campbell has had the task of getting into the paint and posting up with smaller bodies. Campbell has grown into the role while also keeping his 3-point shooting prowess that he had in the beginning of his varsity career.

“Recently, I’ve been playing a lot in the post and down low, especially against small ball teams. It is definitely different than when I was younger when I was shooting a lot from deep and even bringing the ball up at the point some when I was an underclassmen.  But I definitely do still love shooting and keeping that balance has been good for me and our offense overall by being able to stretch the floor.”

It would not be a Coach Joe Bradburn basketball team without a strong defensive unit. Coach Bradburn teaches to play defense as one unit together and to look to make the other team uncomfortable. 

“Coach always preaches defense,”sophomore Ethan King, guard, said. “Ever since day one last summer he told us if we want to play we have to understand his defense and get it right and play strong on that end of the court. If we can force turnovers and make the other team uncomfortable on offense, we can create points on our end. He always tells us our defense is our best offense.”

Tonight’s matchup will be the second to last conference game for the boys squad at home with a 7:30 p.m. scheduled tip-off.