Seahawks Coach Discusses Keys to Victory for Playoffs

South River’s boys basketball team will look to forget the woes of its 16-loss season as they take on Chesapeake High in the first round of the MPSSA Regional playoffs Friday night.

With only six wins on the year, the team didn’t dominate in county play, but head coach Mike Wasilenko said hustle and heart are essential to moving past the first round.

Wasilenko discussed Friday’s matchup with Patch and what his team must do to come away with a win against Chesapeake.

“Offensively, [Chesapeake High] is a very balanced team. You have to do a great job of keeping their point guard out of the paint, while still closing out hard on their shooters,” he said. “We believe it takes five guys doing the right thing on every possession to get a stop and a rebound.”

Defensive rebounding will be key to victory, he said, as the team will look to continue their motto throughout the season of out working their opponents.

On offense, South River's leading scorers Dre Bell and Kellen Brooks will need to be big as well as efficient, Wasilenko said. “We also need Jordan Gunson to continue to control the tempo of the game at the point,” he said.

“We have put in the effort and there is enough talent on our team to compete with anyone in the region,” he said. “We just need to do that for an entire game.”

The Seahawks continually tried to improve their game throughout the season, but now that they’re in the playoffs, it’s time to showcase that improvement, Wasilenko said. 

“There is no game tomorrow to improve for,” said the coach. “Our mindset, which has been set by our seniors, is that we are playing for our lives.”

The Seahawks defeated Chesapeake High in their last matchup, 53-49, on Jan. 25 at home. Tipoff for Friday night’s game is at 7 p.m. at .