The Cannon Falls Boys Basketball team’s shortened season sprang into action on Thursday, January 14, in Goodhue. The boys played a strong opposition and unfortunately took the defeat with a final score of 40-47, a somewhat low scoring varsity game. With strong play from the backcourt, which consists of seniors Marcus Banks and Camden Dicke, the Bombers showed a lot of potential that just needs to be found. “We have a lot of guys that just need some experience,” states Banks. With only six returning varsity players, the Bombers have a fairly young varsity roster. Of the eight players that received playing time in the first game of the season, four players’ were enjoying the thrill of their first varsity experience.

Junior brothers Connor and Colton Loeschke were awarded their first varsity minutes in the first game of the season. The Loeschke’s both earned a spot in the starting lineup. The Loeschke’s both earned a spot in the starting lineup. Moving up from the junior varsity team to the varsity team, the Loeschke boys felt a drastic difference in their playing styles; “The competition is significantly tougher, and the game moves at a much faster pace,” expresses Con. Loeschke. The other two juniors that received their first varsity minutes were junior guards Jacob Wulf and Noah Blanchard, who each put up 3 points on a 25% shot percentage. Although the stat sheets aren’t as pretty as most players hoped, they are still playing with positivity and looking towards the future. “It feels great to be getting playing time as a junior,” exclaims Blanchard. “I’m excited to be playing against the highest level of competition possible.”

Senior guard Marcus Banks took the reigns for the team, scoring 19 points, which accounted for 48% of the team’s total points. Along with a solid 7 point performance from Senior guard Camden Dicke, the Bombers gave a glimpse of the future for this team this season. Although the Bombers have high hopes for the rest of the season, Senior guard Mason Anderson-Rosebear could point out a few flaws that were clearly visible during their first game: “What went wrong for us was not knowing our parts and role we play on the team, along with rebounding.” Even though he could see those flaws, he’s not too worried about it. “It was the first game of the season, we’ll eventually get it together once we work more as a team,” exclaims Rosebear. The Bombers next game is at home on Friday, January 22nd against Triton. Fans hope to see some more chemistry as these next few games roll around.