Because of the football team’s successful season, the Mathews High School varsity boys’ basketball team was forced to hold a two-week long tryout before making final cuts.

With two returning players, Mathews has to start slow and build the team in hopes of becoming more competitive throughout the season. On Monday night, the boys took the court for their first contest against the Poquoson Islanders.

The starting lineup included four underclassman, very unusual for a team that normally depends on its seniors’ leadership and skills. However, the boys did well considering three of them had never played at the varsity level before. Although the defensive presence was not predominant in the first half, the team returned to the court to settle down a tremendous amount and play their game of basketball.

At the end of four quarters of play, the boys had fallen, 62-40, to AA Poquoson. Top scorers were Deon Blake and Deondre Foster with 11 points each, Joey Gordon with ...