Panthers gear up for Richland after holiday break

District competition will be in full swing when the Colleyville Heritage boys basketball team returns from the holiday break, and coach Steve Hamrick said his team will have its hands full right from the get-go.

The Panthers will host Fort Worth Eastern Hills at 7:30 p.m. on Jan. 3, and Hamrick said that he feels certain that his team will be challenged.

“I think the district race is going to be very challenging and wide-open,” Hamrick said. “Eastern Hills is playing well. They beat a very good Richland team in the first district game, so I expect it to be a competitive district ball game.”

Colleyville Heritage opened up district play with a bang last Tuesday night when it defeated Fort Worth Dunbar by a score of 62-57.

Nico Bossinakis went on a tear in the game against the Wildcats, scoring 32 points to lead the way for the Panthers, while Germon Thothian scored 10 points for Colleyville Heritage.

Logan Kari, Nantz Nelson, Jake Ryan, Mohamed Idris and Bret Minnich combined for 20 points.

“I’m really proud of our team,” Hamrick said. “We are growing and improving daily. They have done a very good job of embracing the process and attacking the little things. They are playing together and playing with mental and physical toughness.”

Hamrick said he believes that the preseason did a good job of preparing the Panthers for district.

“Our non-district season and tournaments have been extremely valuable in us figuring ourselves out and learning from those past performances,” Hamrick said. “There is no substitute for experience. I believe those experiences that we have had during the non-district season were great learning tools for our group in preparation for our district season.”

In order to have a successful district campaign and rival for a postseason berth, Hamrick said his team needs to play well on one side of the ball in particular.

“We need to continue to be sound on the defensive end,” Hamrick said. “We need to be really good at contesting shots and gang rebounding. Offensively, we need to value the ball and shoot it with a good percentage.”

This story was originally published December 27, 2016 at 5:57 PM with the headline "Panthers gear up for Richland after holiday break."