Starting off the 2022-2023 season, the Townsend Harris Boys Varsity Basketball team has a 7-0 winning record. Their most recent game against Renaissance Charter School occurred on December 14, closing the match out 76-28. Currently, the boys remain tied for top record in the PSAL Queens Division B. After last year’s season, players reflect and share their hopes for the coming months. This year’s captain is senior (and Classic Sports Editor) Matthew Cantor.

As the boys continue to play through their seasons, senior Finn Cervino, a returning player, shared some ways the team is continuing their 7-win streak. Finn said, “The key to our success on the court has been our transition offense. I think that the team’s success is perfectly sustainable as long as we continue to give effort on the defensive glass.” 

The team’s current leading scorer, with an average of 15.7 points per game, sophomore Andrew Leonard, said, “The key to our team’s success has been getting out in transition and sharing the ball. The team’s chemistry has been great—we haven’t missed a beat.” 

This year, the team accepted five new freshman players. Freshman Mohammad Nasrallah said, “It is still early and therefore it’s important that we remain focused, aggressive, and hungry so we can remain successful and continue getting better.” Freshman Marquin Casulla agreed and said, “We have to keep the energy high throughout the whole game. We cannot lay off in the middle of the game.”

The team also commented on their captain’s role in their early success. Junior Sebastian Frankowski said, “I think [our]captain has done a lot. They’ve sacrificed a bunch of their own time outside of school to make sure everyone is ready to play, as well as helping coach.” Mohammad said, “Our team’s captain has done a really good job staying on top of things and leading the team. In doing so, he has been able to encourage us to continue improving as a team.” Andrew continued, “Matthew has kept order on the court and their presence has been really calming for the team.”

Looking ahead to the rest of the season, Sebastian talked about the team’s shared goal. He said, “[we want] to bring home another banner for our coach and prepare for the next season—but it would also be nice to remain undefeated.” 

The boys hope to continue their success in their upcoming games on the road against Metropolitan High School on December 16, and a home game against undefeated Maspeth High School on December 19. While most games are live-streamed by The Classic, Andrew reminded all Harrisites to “Come out and support the team at every home game. We need school spirit, and the games are fun.”

Photo by Anna Bogonis