Boys’ Basketball Falls in Tough Battle Against New Hampton

Last Friday, the Exeter boys’ varsity basketball team played away against New Hampton School. Big Red battled hard, but ultimately lost 62-75, lowering the team’s record to 9-2. 

Although the team didn’t win, they still gained many positives from the game. Senior Tommy Mobley explained, “New Hampton is a top AAA conference team. Exeter is an A, so the fact that we were able to hang with them is a confidence booster. It was a good test for us.”

When asked about New Hampton’s particular strengths, senior Max Kirsch explained that “Their physical intangibles as in size, length and athleticism were what made them most difficult to play against.”

Senior Cooxooeii Black also noted the size and overall athleticism of Big Red’s opponents and said that New Hampton’s smaller court only contributed to this advantage. Black also talked about New Hampton’s quickness. “At times when we thought we had time and space, they were able to quickly close us down,” Black said.

Although New Hampton’s combination of quickness and size was difficult to play against, Exeter did not give up. “Nobody on the team backed down, and we played them like we would any other team,” Black said.

“The game showed us that we need to improve our interior offense and defensive transition.”

Mobley also commented on New Hampton’s defensive ability. “New Hampton played a 2-3 zone defense. Their incredible size made it difficult to penetrate the zone when they were fresh,” he said. New Hampton’s strong defense shut Exeter down early in the game, allowing them to take a quick 11-0 lead.

When Big Red started to wear down the New Hampton defense, Exeter took the chance to become more of an offensive presence. “When they [New Hampton] got tired, we were able to penetrate the zone and kick the ball out to take three-point shots,” Mobley explained.

Offensively, it was the team’s ability to hit these three-point shots that kept them in the game. Both Mobley and senior James Foye had 20 points, each hitting six three-pointers. Nonetheless, New Hampton’s large presence made scoring layups and short shots difficult.

The game was very close in the second half. Exeter managed to pull within five points a few times. However, New Hampton was able to bounce back and maintain their lead over Exeter. Mobley assessed and explained areas where Exeter fell short. “The game showed us that we need to improve our interior offense and defensive transition,” he said.

Coming up this week, the Exeter boys’ basketball team has two away games at Belmont Hill School and Thayer Academy. They hope to rebound from this week’s loss and bag two wins, to hopefully bring their record to 11-2.