Varsity Basketball v Rumsey (H) on Wednesday January 9th - Report by Coach Ouellette

In their first game of the New Year, the varsity basketball team faced perennial powerhouse Rumsey on their home court. DDS came out with a very up-tempo offense and smothering zone defense. From the opening tip-off to the final buzzer, DDS was never behind and worked very hard to protect their lead. Early in the game point guard Griffin was hobbled by a sprained ankle. Cooper and Austin came in to ably fill his shoes. The entire team looked so good executing their plays with improved precision and knowledge. Adam finished the game with 11 points and many rebounds and was our rock in paint. He battled two larger Rumsey players throughout the game and really made the difference for us on the offensive boards. With Griffin sidelined, Hudson was put into the floor general’s role and he really rose to the occasion. After a couple of miscues, Hudson settled down and delivered some great passes for scores to his teammates. He controlled the fast break and had a beautiful pass to Christian on the block for a great layup. Hudson finished the game with a team high 19 points and 8 steals. As we say in basketball, “he left it all on the court”. By halftime, DDS was leading 20-16 but was losing their focus. After a halftime talk they came back out with renewed determination. Jackson played with some new found confidence. He had good position on his bigger opponents and showed steady improvement on defense. Danielle, Christian, and Roan continued to show consistently good defense with Danielle scoring her first basket of the season. The second half also found Griffin able to play with his ankle wrapped. He finished the game with 9 points and some great steals, even on his “injured wheel”. The team incorporated the “Quick” play forcing Rumsey to come out and play them. The team ran some precious minutes off the clock and the play also led to some beautiful baskets. The “Quick” play was executed by Adam, Hudson, and Griffin and it was very effective. The team looks forward to their next game with Trinity-Pawling on Thursday, January 17th at DDS. If you’re not too busy, please come and see this great group of kids try to make it three in a row.