February 14th wasn’t just for Valentine’s Day this year, it also was Senior Night for the varsity boys’ basketball team and winter cheer squad! We celebrated BHS’s seniors who have dedicated many hours on the court. The team took on St. Pius X at 6:30 p.m., winning 79-46. If you missed the game, or just can’t get enough of our senior basketball players, read more here.
Senior Tyler Taylor began playing basketball in fifth grade, took a short intermission from the sport in his last year of middle school, and then returned for all four years of high school.
“At first, it was the love for the sport, but I discovered it was more than just having fun and being physically active,” said Taylor. What Taylor discovered was that what he really values about being on the team is the close bond he has with his teammates and coaches. “You can tell that everybody on the team really cares. They give their best effort.”
This is Taylor’s second year being team captain, so many see him as an established leader on the team. Even if he didn’t have the designated role, Taylor maintained a guiding and helping presence throughout his career. Taylor has found himself trying to get more out of his teammates’ games and encouraging them to keep practicing or conditioning because he loves to see their skills improve so the whole team can refine their playing.
What Taylor will miss the most when he graduates is the bond that they’ve created over the years. His favorite memory was when they beat Valley Park in his sophomore year to go to the district championships.
Senior David Wallace has been playing basketball for two-thirds of his life – starting when he was just 6 years old. On Brentwood’s varsity team, he plays power forward. His greatest accomplishment throughout his years playing for Brentwood was being on the leaderboard for most blocks for several seasons. His highest number of blocks in a year was during the 2023-2024 season with a total of 69 blocks.
According to Wallace, some values and life lessons that basketball has taught him is: “to be patient with certain things and make sure that you’re completely under control with yourself.”
Noam Still has been playing basketball since he was around 4 years old and has played all four years of high school. His position is small forward and power forward. This season he’s proud to be a starter on the team and feels that the game he performed best in was against Maplewood.
During games, a way that Still handles pressure-filled situations is by going at his own pace. Some values and life lessons basketball has taught he is, “Your attitude will depend on how you perform during games.”
August Morgan-Scott has been playing basketball since he was in 6th grade. His position is shooting guard but prefers playing point guard. His favorite part of being on the team is the bond they have together, like how the seniors usually grab food together before games. “We are kind of like a family,” he said.
During his years on the team, one of the most pivotal moments for him might come as a surprise. “It was when we lost to Crossroads in 2023,” he said. Morgan-Scott was a sophomore at the time, and historically Brentwood always beat Crossroads. While the loss was a blow for the team, Morgan-Scott saw it as much more. “It was a turnaround moment for the team,” he said. “We realized we had to focus, lock-in and work harder.” After that game, the team ended up winning the rest of the season and nearly won districts, placing second to Maplewood.
Playing since freshman year, senior Blake Beckrich started his basketball career just playing with friends for fun as a kid. Linking to a lot of childhood memories, what kept Beckrich coming back year after year was: “My love for the game,” he said.
The atmosphere and environment of the team is also something he enjoys. The closeness of he and his teammates, as well as the coaches, make showing up to every practice and game worth it in his eyes. Being a senior, Beckrich has created a tight-knit relationship with his team, and he’s sad to leave it behind. He has a role on the team as a morale booster, picking up others when they get down.
“The district semi-final against Valley [Park], hearing Coach Sapp’s [the varsity assistant coach and JV head coach for Brentwood boys basketball] after game thoughts about how he wasn’t gonna go to work the next day,” said Beckrich when asked about his favorite memory throughout his four years of basketball. “It’s a core basketball memory,” he said. “He inspired all of us to not go to work the next day.”
This year was senior Joshua Jackson’s first year playing basketball in high school. He was encouraged by friends to join the team and having played in middle school, Jackson decided it wouldn’t be a bad idea. Originally having quit the sport due to his old middle school team’s environment, Jackson feels our Brentwood boys basketball team is a breath of fresh air. “We have good players, good chemistry, and a good coach,” said Jackson.
Having played in middle school, Jackson had a grasp on the basic skills and inner workings of the game, but he had to work hard to improve his playing by going to practices and giving his all on the court during games. “I’m definitely relearning things,” said Jackson. Even though he’s upping his game every day, that’s not what Jackson really credits to his growth as a player. “The inspiration of my coaches, and my mom. She helped me and motivated me to do a lot of this.”
Jackson will miss all the fun he has had with his team this year. He loves the quality time they spend together on and off the court. His favorite times with his team are laughing on the bus after games, making jokes, and talking with each other. Jackson’s advice to his underclassmen is: “Keep going and never stop.”
Playing since he was about seven years old, senior Logan Hawkins has always had a passion for basketball. It began with Hawkins simply playing with a group of his friends for fun, but it quickly turned into him developing a deep love for the game.
Now, as a senior, Hawkins has worked tirelessly to improve his skills. “The summer from my freshman to sophomore year, that was when I really decided to work as hard as I could. I realized after freshman year how much better I needed to be if I wanted to go forward with basketball. It was just a lot of hard work,” he said. And all that work paid off tremendously! On December 11th in a game against Collegiate, Hawkins secured an immense milestone, his 1,000th point scored for the Brentwood Eagles. With hitting the score so early in the season, Hawkins has set a new goal before the season’s end: 1,400 points.
“I’ve been playing with the same team for four years. I’ve been with Tyler, David [teammates], and all of them for so long. It’ll just be hard to go forward,” said Hawkins, reminiscing on all the time he’s spent and the bonds he’s created. Hawkins is also a team captain and he enjoys the team chemistry and the work he puts in with his role of leadership to have everybody on the same page. “We’re like brothers, we’re family. We just build each other up and strive for our goals,” he said. While Hawkins hasn’t decided where he’s going to college next year, he knows that he wants to play basketball and is currently in talks with a couple of different schools.
