Brockton has recorded wins over Brighton, New Bedford, and Andover this season, among others, but it’s going to be in the next two weeks that Boen finds out what the Boxers are truly made of.
The Boxers are slated to face three straight league-leading teams, beginning with undefeated No. 2 Newton North (Bay State, 12-0) Feb. 5, No. 8 Mansfield (Hockomock, 9-4) two days later, and No. 3 Catholic Memorial (Catholic Conference, 10-2) Friday night.
“This upcoming stretch is going to show us if there’s something we need to work on that I haven’t seen yet,” said Boen. “All three of those teams will be around in the postseason. So for us this is kind of like the tournament before the tournament.
“At the beginning of the season, I looked at the schedule and thought that we could be in trouble if we came into this stretch with an average record,” continued Boen. “I’m happy we’ve gotten off to such a nice start.”
The driving force behind Brockton’s fast start this season has been senior big manSayvonn Houston. Houston, who stands 6-feet-6-inches tall, averages a double-double (12 points, 10 rebounds) and has emerged as Brockton’s No. 1 offensive threat.
“Houston has just been able to overpower people this season,” said Boen. “If he misses, he’s relentless going after the rebound. He’s become a real offensive force for us. When he first started playing as a sophomore he was kind of a big guy, but now he’s all muscle.
“For the first time in my tenure we are really trying to get to ball down low to a big man,” added Boen. “In the past we’ve been a run-and-shoot team, but now we try to overpower you with our bigs.”
The Boxers also returne last season’s leading scorer, Jamal Reuben. The shooting guard has been a calming influence on the offensive end, scoring just over 10 points per game, while providing a nice complement to Houston’s presence down low.
Although Boen likes his offensive options, he did admit that the team is still lacking timing and hasn’t shot the ball as well as he expected them to.
