As of Friday, Jan. 26, the Wareham High School varsity boys basketball team is first in the Division Four power rankings with a 11-3 winning record. 

Head Coach Stephen Faniel said although the boys lost Friday’s game against Bourne 61-71, the team has been showing improvement. 

“We’re a really talented basketball team,” Faniel said. “We’re satisfied with where we’re at, but we’re working hard daily to figure some stuff out to get where we need to be.”

Bourne played physical and had the rebounding advantage, Faniel said in regard to Friday’s game. 

“They played really good defense, they made things difficult for us and they just played harder than us,” he said, adding the game gave the team more insight on what they need to be working on. 

“We have to make sure that our effort is where it needs to be on a daily basis, and that the kids understand we got a big target on our backs, so we're going to get everyone's best shot,” Faniel said. “So we can't have days where we're not at our best.”

Where the team has been shining is in its ability to get the ball moving up and down the court and in getting teams to play their way, Faniel said, adding how this has been successful for the team.

Although Friday was a “step backwards” for the team, Faniel said they have accomplished a lot this season.

“It's just a process of trying not to skip any steps, trying to work hard every day [and] trying to understand that just because we had success last year doesn't mean that that success has been given to us this year,” he said. “We have to still go out and earn that success.”