John Raffel
Sports Scene
Breckenridge’s boys basketball team has had its ups and downs, but coach Jeff Ostrander is gearing his team up for a late season and postseason tournament run.
The Huskies started out the season 3-5.
“I would describe it as average,” Ostrander said. “We’re doing OK. We played a pretty good game against MLS (Michigan Lutheran Seminary). We came out six points from winning. It was 24-11 going into halftime and we scored 38 points in the second half (in a 55-49 loss).
“They’re coming on. They have a really good quarter, then they have two bad quarters. It’s mostly juniors and sophomores. They’re trying to get used to the speed.”
The Huskies are coming off a banner 2016-17 season when they were 17-4. They started out 5-0.
Three-year starter Caleb Hurt is back this year and a junior who has been coming on is Braydon Aldrich, who scored 22 points in the second half against MLS.
“Braydon is a real good guard and has good speed,” Ostrander said. “He’s about 6-foot tall and is a good ball handler and a good shooter. He understands the game and knows when to do what.
“The biggest thing I’m trying to teach this young group is sometimes you have to score at all costs and sometimes the clock is more important than more points. They’re learning. They’re trying to figure out what to do and when to do it. A lot of it is about getting reps. Going from JV to varsity is a big step. I try not to put too much emphasis on the win and loss stuff. My emphasis is to get better every day. Otherwise, what are we doing? I only have two seniors and I want them to have a good experience. I want my juniors to become a team who next year could compete for a title.”