Boys Basketball season begins 0-2 Tri-Valley, 2-3 overall

(Jan. 3) – Newport boys basketball is striving this year to improve on last season’s 7-12 record. The losses of previous starting seniors Joshua Bellis, Teo Garcia-Fernandez, and Shane Lamprey will affect this season’s freshman-dominated team dynamic. However, the returning juniors and seniors are lined up to fill the holes left by these past players.

During the first two weeks of practice, head coach Jeff Zaring happily welcomed back former head coach Justin Hazel to run offensive and defensive plays alongside assistant coaches Ben Page and Keith Walter. “When Coach Hazel decided to resign as [East Juniata’s] head coach, he reached out to me and the guys about volunteering,” Coach Zaring explained.

In the beginning of the season, players volunteering for the spot of captain gave speeches to the rest of the team to earn their vote. Senior Ruben Moreno and senior Ryder Wands were voted to be permanent captains, and by coaches’ discretion and captains’ choice, an “honorary” captain is selected each week. 

On Monday, Nov. 27, the Buffaloes traveled to Lancaster County Christian School for a scrimmage to exhibit their skills and to prepare for the first game of the season at the J.T. Kuhn Memorial Tip-Off Tournament at Big Spring. Next, the team hosted Harrisburg Academy for a scrimmage on Wednesday, Nov. 29 to again test where the team’s skills lay.

At Big Spring for the J.T. Kuhn Memorial Tip-Off Tournament on Friday, Dec. 8, the Buffaloes fell to the Bulldogs 33-60. Moreno was able to get past the Bulldog defense and land 10 points. Following behind him in points with four was freshman Landon Zaring. Zaring, with five defensive rebounds this game, proved himself to be a dominant player on the court. “… it’s pretty exciting, but I feel like there’s pressure on me to do well since I’m starting as a freshman,” Zaring said.

In the consolation game against Susquenita on Saturday, Dec. 9, Newport came out with a close 42-37 victory over the Blackhawks in a competitive matchup.

At the end of the third quarter, Newport had the lead with a score of 27-20, but this didn’t stop the Susquenita offense from scoring. A Blackhawk scored a three-point field goal in the fourth quarter to make the game 34-35 in Newport’s favor. Moreno got to shoot for two after Deaven earned a foul taking the score to 36-34 for the Buffaloes. Susquenita was unable to regain the lead from there.

On Tuesday, Dec. 12, Newport hosted their season opener against the Juniata Indians. Both teams tied for points scored in the paint. Moreno, Zaring, and senior Zachary Bellis all tied in free-throw shot percentage of 50% for this game, each having two and only making one. However, Newport lost in this match, 28-37.

The team’s next match-up was an away game hosted by the East Juniata Tigers on Friday, Dec. 15. This was another game with a close score, ending in a loss for the Buffaloes 33-37 with a Tiger sweep in the fourth quarter.  Notably, the Buffaloes were 2-5 for three’s while the Tigers were 1-17. Bellis was a key player in this game, scoring ten points, the majority from rebounds. 

To begin the first of two nights of back-to-back games, Covenant Christian Academy brought the Buffaloes to their gym on Monday, Dec. 18th. Just as Newport did last year, they surpassed the 50-point mark, with a win of 51-28 this year after their 67-34 win over the Falcons on Feb. 7, 2023.

This puts the Buffaloes at 0-2 in the Tri-Valley League but 2-3 overall to begin the season.