The IJH boys basketball season certainly is in full swing right now. The 7th grade still are at the top of their game as they play undefeated. They finished their battle against the Wildcats on Thursday night with another win under their belt.

Coaches Larry Mayberry and Josh Ward led the young Gladiators to victory on Thursday night. With this team putting out a lot of effort, Italy stopped the Wildcats in their tracks.

Top scorers for the night were #5 “Little K” Johnson with 24 points and #14 Joe Celis with 16 points.

Is it strategy or just good ol’ fashioned elbow grease and working the ball up and down the court, stopping their opponents with defensive and offensive moves? The exciting game of the young Gladiators lends thoughts to high school basketball a few years down the road and how another state title could be in their future.

The final score was Italy 53, Whitney 38. The important point for the season is this team goes undefeated and they are not backing down without a full fledged battle.

The 8th grade boys’ team were down in numbers on Thursday night as they played the game with only six team members. As they strained for victory, the boys battled and were down only by 16 at the final buzzer. However, in defense of the Gladiators, Whitney brought their secret weapon, a 6’ player named Wickerson(#44). He was taller than the coach, with an enormous wing span as large as any adult in the room. This fact had nothing illegal surrounding it. The matter of fact is Whitney simply has a tall 8th grade player-an achievement the Gladiators will advance to when the time is right. Wickerson put 18 points on the board.

The final score was Whitney 46, Italy 30. The Gladiator high scorer for the evening was Connor with 19 points.

If you haven’t seen a basketball game this year, start watching these young teams. You’ll see our future playing on the court and developing into a well oiled machine. The next game for junior high boys is slated for Thursday, January 12 in Keene beginning at 5pm.