Sneakers squeaked across the polished floor and hands flew for the ball as the boys basketball team fought their fifth match of November.

“Players need to be aggressive, they need to be fearless,” Varsity coach Nick Halic said. “They don’t worry about messing up and they’re unselfish.”

On Nov. 29, Birmingham Community Charter High School’s Patriots competed against John Marshall High School’s Barristers in an intense match that ended in a Patriot win. The game kicked off with speedy passes, layups and even a slam dunk. By the halftime mark, the Patriots had 42 points, almost double their visitor’s 27 points. In the end, the Patriots score was 86-56.

“The people all bring good different skills to the team and work well together,” said sophomore Cuyler Huffman, who plays varsity forward for the Patriots. Huffman is also the only athlete from Daniel Pearl Magnet High School on the varsity team.

The players practiced with various drills such as layup lines, offensive sets and defensive drills. The coach’s goal was to make sure each player carried out their assigned position correctly and learned what they were supposed to do. Since players were liable to switching roles, knowing what their fellow teammates had to do was equally important.

“Last year the team was more experienced,” Halic said. “I had the same guys for two years. Right now it’s about getting these guys gelled up and tougher.”

On Nov. 30, the Patriots team traveled to Reno, Nevada, where they competed in the 2017 Wild West Shoot Out against Mountain View High School’s Toros. The Patriots landed another win with 65-56, marking the team’s fourth win of the month.

The team is currently in pre-season play and will begin their regular season on Jan. 10.