Belmont has been squashing competition all season and Thursday night the hot streak continued as the team defeated Newfound, 64-55.

The Red Raiders’ boys basketball team has only suffered two losses all season, and one of those came during tournament play and didn’t count toward their record. The first was at the Mike Lee Holiday Bash against D-II Coe-Brown by only two points in overtime, and the other one against Campbell in NHIAA-play to split the series.

Thursday’s game was another showcase of their mental fortitude, depth at all five positions, and versatility on both sides of the floor, which are the essence of what makes the Red Raiders formidable and the traits that they got to where they are.

Not just another win

Thursday night memorialized Jake Deware, a Belmont student, who passed away in 2020 and through the foundation created by his family they have aimed to raise funds for multiple scholarships and donations for robotics, outdoor sports and activities, foster care, animal rescue efforts, funding local businesses started by teens, and students looking to go into a trade.

The Jake Deware Kindness Project aims to create “kindness ripples” and enrich the lives of everyone in the community and beyond. They gave out kindness cards intended to brighten the recipient's day with a positive and encouraging message, while also asking the recipients to pass them on and spread the word.

The team carried Deware’s motto with them in this game and many community members showed up in support of both the basketball and the project: “Work. Play. Be kind along the way.”

A gritty win

Newfound gave Belmont plenty of trouble early in the game and outscored them in the first half to take a 39-33 lead into the locker room. 

The Red Raiders played well, but the defense struggled at times. They had impressive individual moments in the first quarter, including a dunk from senior forward Keegan Martinez on a fast-break and a halfcourt buzzer-beater by junior guard Treshawn Ray, but the Red Raiders still trailed.

Coach Tony Martinez changed some schemes to find a way to come back. He rotated his guards consistently but left Ray in for most of the game, and he added size by throwing senior center Anakin Underhill into the mix to shore up the interior defense.

Belmont came out of the half with different energy. They played with a full-court press and crashed the boards heavily to generate turnovers and second-chance buckets, especially with Martinez hauling rebounds on the offensive glass. 

“I just told them that we have to bring the pressure. I think anytime a team brings pressure, it gets everybody’s energy levels up naturally. And I thought the first half we played very flat, we were on our heels, we were kind of waiting,” Coach Martinez said. “We were reacting and not being aggressive. I thought putting the press on really made us go after things and we sped them up and I think that’s what led to turnovers, and then we were able to capitalize on some things and play the way we normally play.”

Martinez’s efforts earned him a team-leading 22 points, while Underhill followed with 14. The team was able to hold Newfound to just 16 points in the second half while scoring 30 points themselves. Ray and junior guard Wyatt Carroll came up with big plays in the fourth as well to seal the game for the Raiders.

“Defensively, honestly we’re trying to close down on shooters, we know the whole team shoots. So anytime we see a shooting team like that, we close out hard,” Underhill said. “We know that the big guys are going to battle down for rebound, so it kind of takes pressure off the low post, because we know we can all rebound, so definitely crashing too.”

How to keep on winning

With the win, Belmont surpassed last year’s win total (12) and are on track to finish the year out strong. Furthermore, many of its core five returned from last year bigger, faster and stronger. 

“The guys have really embraced what we’re trying to do and accomplish. We’ve set goals and guys have focused on those goals and we all are looking to do the same thing. I think the difference is everybody's a year older we’ve got good senior leadership, great captains,” said Martinez.

Earlier this year, the coach’s son Keegan Martinez reached the 1,000th point milestone, but on any given night, someone new cand step up to lead the Red Raiders to victory, like the recent game against Gildford where Ray scored 35 points.

“It was a good milestone. It was a really good moment, but we can't let it like distract us,” said Keegan Martinez. “We just got to keep moving and keep playing as a team and eventually get to the championship.”

“It feels amazing, especially going out in your senior season like that. So I think we’re going to keep it rolling. And we all know what the big goal in mind is so as long as we stay stay like this, we’ll be all right,” Underhill added.

According to coach Martinez, they’re taking it day by day and look to continue winning and the game against Newfound showed how they do that. Defensive grit, effort, and mental toughness.

“This year, with how top-heavy the division is, we don’t talk about the championship or anything like that. Right now, as things are narrowing, we really want a one or two-seed because with the top-heaviness, that third or fourth seed, those quarterfinal games are going to be battles and we would like to try to find the easiest path for us,” Tony Martinez added.

Belmont’s next game is against Inter-Lakes at home on Feb. 4.

 

Alexander Rapp can be reached at arapp@cmonitor.com