With a current record of 1-23, the boys’ basketball team has one last chance to grab a win during its section game Feb. 27.

The team has the eighth seed in the section 6AAAA tournament, which means it will have to play Hopkins, which is currently the top team in the state.

Sophomore player Ray Whitlock said even though the competition will be tough, the players will still give it their all.

“Our team has nothing to lose, so we are just going to play hard and what happens, happens,” Whitlock said. “This game is also a good experience for us to play against great competition.”

Reflecting on the season so far, head coach David Breitenbucher said he thinks the team’s effort points toward a more promising future.

“The highlight of the season, for me at least, was to watch the guys improve this year,” he said. “We really took big steps forward this year and looking at how we were playing at the beginning of the year to where we are playing now, it’s night and day.”

Breitenbucher also said he thinks the team has reached its goal of improving throughout the season, despite its current record.

“We talked in the beginning of the year about how every practice and every game that we play we just gotta keep taking steps forward,” he said. “To have a season like we have with only one win, I’m so happy the kids are still playing hard and are still improving. Even though the wins and losses don’t look good, the guys have really done great.”

In terms of the team’s future, Breitenbucher said it all depends on the work the players put in during the off-season.

“These days you just can’t show up in November and expect that you’re going to have an amazing season,” he said. “If you look at the other teams that are the elite teams in the state, they have guys that are playing basketball year-round and we need to get back into that.”

To help the team approach this level of playing, junior player Tommy Burnett said he is looking forward to building a stronger, more knowledgeable team next year.

“We are looking to get stronger and better in order to perform better next year,” he said. “Also, having experience will help since some of us will be seniors.”

Next year the team will also move into the Metro West conference, which according to Breitenbucher will be an added challenge for them to face.

“The new conference is also a step up as far as schools go with their basketball programs, so the bottom line is we have a lot of work we need to do with our basketball program,” Breitenbucher said.

The team plays its final tournament of the season at 7:00 on Feb. 27 at Hopkins High School.