This year, the boys basketball team saw a large increase in student turnout and wins.

Head coach Jared St. Charles said the increased support was driven by the team’s success and student involvement.

“Again, we had a good group of guys, including the student section, who just enjoyed basketball, so we got you guys out here,” St. Charles said. “I appreciate y’all coming. I mean, let’s be honest, people want to come watch a team win. So we did a lot more winning this year, so that helped a lot.”

Senior basketball player Colby Moon said the larger crowds made a difference for the team.

“More fans provided energy for us to feed off on and off the court,” Moon said.

Assistant coach Aaron Watson said social media also helped increase excitement around the team.

“Instagram is out there that made it even more fun, you know, just brought that culture to the school that just made it fun and exciting,” Watson said. “You can see the energy on the team. The team was just playing as hard as they could and giving all their effort and energy to trying to win and make the school happy.”

St. Charles said the MVP game was one of the highlights of the season because of the strong support from students.

Watson said the student body helped make the games more exciting for both players and fans.

“I think it starts with the students. The students bought in, and that made a huge difference,” Watson said. “You could tell the students bought into it.”

St. Charles said the packed games remind him of his own high school basketball experience.

“You know, growing up in Michigan, and this was the late ’90s for me, it was always packed,” St. Charles said. “I’ve told Caden forever that I want to make sure you play in front of lots of people as well, so we’re happy that everybody’s showing up and being there now.”