After finishing 7-2 in preseason play, the boys basketball team looks to start its season off strong versus a Lebanon Trail tonight at home at 7:30 p.m.

Head coach Kyle Herrema said his team has a “super hungry” and “super aggressive” mindset heading into the season.

“I think we’ve just been kind of banged up the last couple of years, and we were pretty young last year,” Herrema said. “I think they’re playing with a chip on their shoulder. I think they’re excited for the start of the new year and what the possibilities could hold.”

The team concluded its preseason by going 2-1 in its final scrimmage before the start of the regular season, racking up wins versus Newman Smith and Parish Episcopal, but losing to Mesquite.

The team returns its top four returning scorers from last season in junior Kolby McSpadden (8.6 points per game), senior Luke Ledebur (8.5), sophomore Carson Holden (7.5) and senior Kyle Olson (7.2).

“Our chemistry is really good, so we were able to just carry that over from last season,” Olson said. “But, Mesquite was new for us because they’re a really high paced and up tempo team. We started to adapt by the end of the game. If we were to play them again, I think we would beat them.”

The team suffered an early setback, losing starting point guard Drew Doig for the season to an ACL tear that took place in a practice during early October.

“That was pretty awful losing him, just right before he’d gotten healthy,” Herrema said. “So our depth is kind of lacking. [Sophomore] Mitchell Weaver is definitely going to be a guy that’s going to have to play some point guard. We’ve got a lot of confidence in him. He’s kind of a bulldog, so I love his mentality for that spot.

Last year’s team (12-19, 6-8) concluded its season after a 27-50 first round loss to Sulphur Springs (30-5, 12-1) in the playoffs. This season, the team is not only looking to win district, but make a deep playoff run, as well.

“I think we’re a playoff-caliber team,” Herrema said. “We know that there are some tough teams in our district, including McKinney North. But we really feel like at any given night, we can be the best team on the floor.”