They have been so close.
In the first round of district play, the boys basketball team lost four games by a total of 7 points.
“That’s really been a challenge for us,” head coach Ike Thornton said.
The boys kicked off the second round of district play with a 62-51 loss to Alamo Heights Jan. 14, marking its second defeat to the team this season. They bounced back against Boerne on Jan 17 with a 67-59 victory and fell to Pieper 62-54 on Tuesday.
The boys take on New Braunfels at home at 6:30 p.m.
The team remains in eighth place in the district with a 3-8 record and holds an overall record of 10-11. Wagner (9-1) and district newcomer Alamo Heights (8-2) rank first and second, respectively, in district followed by another newcomer, New Braunfels (7-4).
“As you know, injuries always provide an obstacle as you got to get over it and adjust to it,” Thornton said, “and I think we finally adjusted to it.”
Injuries aren’t the team’s only challenge. With the departure of five seniors from this past year’s roster, this season’s team is largely composed of underclassmen, with only four seniors providing leadership.
“We’re much more talented this year,” Thornton said. “We have a good array of players who worked hard in the off season. One of our mantras is ‘relentless pursuit to improvement,’ and several of them (team) are seniors that really capture that and it’s kind of spread into the entire program.”
This past season, senior captain Wayne Jurica averaged 2.1 points per game. This year, he’s raised that to 15.7, making him the team’s leading scorer. Jurica is also ranks second in district for points per game just behind Pieper’s Mason Thomas who averages 16.7.
“Wayne Jurica’s improved by lightyears,” Thornton said. “(Senior) Kalten Guerra, same way. Those two guys always text me, ‘Coach, can I get in the gym?’ on Saturdays and Sundays, and I’ve held them accountable to bring in other players with them and they’ve done that. I swear we’ve improved across the boards.”
From being a bench player to starter, Jurica now leads the team in field goal percentage with 54%, shooting 73% from the free throw line and 54% from the three.
“My consistent work ethic throughout the summer and fall and getting pushed to be my best by my coaches and teammates has played a huge role in my development,” Jurica said. “I just want to help the team, and my role as an efficient scorer can do that so I try my best to just make the right decisions.”
Also making an impact is sophomore Wyatt Clemence, representing the underclassmen of the team.
“Over the past year, my growth as a basketball player has been marked by a combination of hard work, learning from my teammates and coaches, and overcoming challenges with my team,” Clemence said.
Clemence was a freshman on JV this past year and currently averages 13 ppg at the varsity level as the second leading scorer.
“I thought the biggest adjustment when moving up to varsity basketball is the increase in competition and the faster pace of the game,” Clemence said. “At the varsity level, players are typically more skilled, experienced, and physically stronger, which means you need to elevate your own performance to keep up.”
No worries are needed for Clemence as he dominates the boards with 5.2 rebounds per game on the defensive side and shoots 63% from the free throw line – which makes him the second best free throw shooter, tied with Junior Robert Gutierrez.
While their current record might seem discouraging, they’ve gotten off to a stronger start compared to this time last year.
“This team has seen so much growth in just teamwork and compatibility as our chemistry on the court is largely due to the increased time we spend together off of it,” Jurica said.
The team’s chemistry and sense of accountability are key strengths, helping everyone work well together and stay committed to their goals.
“We relentlessly pursue to improvement, and that means as a coach I have to be able to be relentless in my approach to try and find a way to get us over the hump,” Thornton said. “I mean I look at the short losses we had in close games, I look at decisions that I made that I could’ve made differently and would’ve helped. I don’t point the finger at the players.”
By learning from their mistakes, the team is set to overcome adversity.
“Accountability has always been on me cause I’m the head coach, and I go by John Williams’ famous quote, ‘You haven’t taught them till they learn,’ so if they’re not learning I got to teach better,” Thornton said.
Jurica and the team are eager to turn their season around as they enter the second round of district, with the chance to secure a spot in the playoffs.
“Our expectations are to control what we can control and fight through adversity to win games this time around,” Jurica said. “By taking games one at a time, we should be able to receive enough wins to earn a spot in the playoffs.”