by MacKenzie Silvia
Boys’ basketball, 8-0, plays South, 6-2, at the TD Garden tomorrow at 3 p.m. The Tigers hope to gain another win against South after beating the Lions 71-69 Dec. 29 in the first round of the Garden City Classic at home. Silvia
Tune in on tomorrow at 3 p.m. for a live blog of the game.
The Newtonite talked about Saturday’s game with Jack Hooker, the editor-in-chief of the Denebola, South’s newspaper. The Denebola asked the Newtonite questions on its website
Q: What have been the Lions strengths this season?
JH: South has moved the ball well on offense all season. The senior guards are experienced players and know how to make the opponent work on defense. They’ve been capitalizing on open shots and driving to the hoop when they have the chance.
Q: How has South struggled this season?
JH: The Lions will occasionally throw away the ball and give easy transition points to opponents off of turnovers. Our defense has also been a point of emphasis for improvement. Although we have gotten better at playing help defense, we will need to step up against North’s three-point shooters.
Q: Who has been playing exceptionally for South?
JH: Senior guards Geoffrey Gray and Jack Groper have been leading the Lions in scoring recently and are hot from behind the arc. Senior center Brendan Duggan and sophomore center Sasha Hoban have also stepped up by helping the Lions down low with rebounds and by adding size to the offense. Senior captain Mark Karmiy has also had a huge contribution to the Lion’s offense, though he suffered an ankle injury and is questionable for Saturday’s game.
Q: How has South prepared for this game?
JH: South lost to fifth-ranked Catholic Memorial on Tuesday in overtime, although we held the lead for most of the game. We plan on coming out strong again and finishing off just as strong.
Q: What do you think we can expect from South?
JH: I think this will be a very close game like the last one. Since then, however, the Lion’s offense has matured. I don’t expect many turnovers, and they will be guarding North’s shooters tight on defense. If South can shoot well from the paint and behind the arc, I think we will be able to revenge our first loss of the season.