On Tuesday, November 29, Cape Coral High School’s boys basketball team had their first game of the season, bringing home a win against the Riverdale Raiders, 72-49.

The game started off slow, with the first half ending 24-20 Seahawks. However, after the team came out of the locker room, something in the air changed, and the Seahawks went on to score 48 points in the second half.

The first game of the season and an incredible win, the boys are ready to aim for the hoops this season and are working hard to take home the gold. 

“The more you reverse the ball and give great shots, the higher efficiency is going to be brought in,” said coach Robert Ebbert. 

With 21 points, 5 rebounds, and 3 assists in his first game as a Seahawk, freshman Isaiah Newson, point guard, showed that he deserved his spot on the varsity squad. 

“My team giving the energy off on the defensive side talking, motivating me to keep on keeping my head in the game and keep going,” stated Newson.

Defense played decently, as the Seahawks brought in 14 fouls throughout the game, with Newson bringing in the most. 

Starting off his season strong, Newson knows he still has a lot to improve on, stating, “I would say my shot, and be less aggressive on the defensive side.” 

Senior and starting guard, John Teran, suffered a minor injury early in the 4th that kept him out the rest of the game, “I just rolled my ankle-I just slipped,” said Teran. 

Teran should, however, be all ready to play in their next game on December 2nd. 

Able to pick up six offensive rebounds in the fifteen minutes that he played, Teran is a valuable player on the Seahawks’ offensive team. 

As this year’s varsity team is relatively young, this early win is a confidence booster for the whole team, encouraging them to keep up the hard work.

“We have nobody with more than eight varsity games on our team right now so everybody is really young and very little experienced,” said Ebbert.

However, with this young team comes more opportunities for improvement, growing together both on and off the court.

“When I come down the court, I’m looking for my pass. I’m looking for my shooters [to] get everybody started and everybody going,” said Newson.

Bringing in 19 points, junior Austin Arringdale-Klein, made five out of the nine three-point shots he attempted, along with some added points off of rebounds and the putbacks.

While a young team, the boys will be losing a few Seahawks at the end of the season, the last first game of their high school basketball careers. 

“It feels good. I mean, it’s kinda sad being my last first game. We didn’t really have a preseason game, so that was definitely our first,” said Teran.