The Davenport West boys basketball team traveled to play Clinton on Thursday, January 20th. Coming off of losing two close games, they were determined to win. They came out with energy and ready to play.

“The first 3 minutes of the game were my favorite. We came out and they had absolutely no business being on the floor with us and they knew it and we knew it,” Assistant Coach Hanrahan said.

The Falcons came out strong and aggressive. At the end of the first quarter West was up 24-8.

“It was a good way for us to start the second half of the year. You know we have been struggling, been giving games away. They all know we all need to lock in and as soon as we are there, we are the best team in the conference,” Hanrahan said. 

Junior Jermilyn Gardner shot well all game making 13 free throws and having a career high of 31 points in one game.

“My favorite play was my 3 pointer to break 30 points for the night,” Gardner said.

Gardner wasn’t the only big shooter of the night. Junior Idris Thomas and Senior Landon Winston shot 15 or more points in the game.

“They played great. You don’t score 93 points without playing good team basketball,” Hanrahan said.

Although having a big win and beating Clinton by 42 points, players still believe they have things to improve on.

“Despite our performance, we can do better. I mean, honestly, I think we need some more work to be prepared for harder teams,” Thomas said. 

As they start to play their second half of the season, the team energy from this game has been established. 

“A good part of tonight’s game was getting everyone the ball, making sure everyone gets the ball to score but we need to get more rebounds and less turnovers,” junior Davonte Bradford said.

Best of luck to the boys basketball team as they take on their second half of the season. Next, Davenport West takes on cross town rivals Davenport Central Tuesday, January 24th.