Serving Lucas, Ottawa, Sandusky and Wood Counties
The Lake boys basketball team features a talented crop of guards who look to continue the program’s rise to sustained success.
The Flyers finished 13-10 overall last year, becoming the first boys basketball team at the school to finish .500 or better in back-to-back seasons since the Ryan Bowen-led squad did it in five straight from 2010-15.
“It's a testament to the young men that we have in our program, of guys that are just willing to go through kind of the ebbs and flows that each season has,” Lake’s fourth-year head coach Luke Hickey said. “It speaks to our roster this year that is going to have eight seniors on it. That's just a testament to them and sticking it out.
“These seniors have truly developed a standard and an expectation here that they have been able to kind of drive down to the younger players as well. The young players in our program are so impressionable, and they see these guys having success, and they understand the program’s expectations. It has allowed us to kind of build from the ground up and be able to see some success consistently.”
Preston Snyder, a reigning First Team All-NBC senior who averaged 15.3 points and 6.4 assists per game last year, and Carter Behlmer, who averaged 7.1 points and made a school-record nine three-pointers in one game, are back to lead a dynamic group of guards.
“It goes back to the experience,” Hickey said. “I think they bring a sense of calmness to us as well because they have done it so long. Those two are just true definitions of leader by example. They were both voted captains for us, and deservedly so. They have really taken on a leadership role in terms of leading by example and understanding that we're a team that wants to be built on our attitude, our approach, our intensity, and our toughness.
“They have been able to instill that, not only in themselves, but it's been contagious — they're kind of our leaders and guys will gravitate towards them. I couldn't ask of anything more from them at practice and in scrimmages and in games that are upcoming. They just provide a presence about them that is easy to follow.”
Jaxson Rymers, a junior, also returns at guard after starting around half of the team’s games last season.
“He’s another guard who really loves to defend and takes pride in his work,” Hickey said. “Offensively, he's one of our most unselfish guys and looks to create shots for his teammates the best that he can.”
Sophomore Jace Ayers, who led the JV team in scoring last year, and senior Brandon Foster will also see prominent roles for the team this season.
“Jace is one that has done extremely well being a first-year full-varsity player,” Hickey said. “He did earn his letter for us last year, because he did play, but he'll have a more predominant role, and he's one that we believe can expand opposing defenses because of his ability to put it in the hoop on the offensive end. What I've been most proud of is Jace has really amped up his defensive intensity and has become a really good defender for us as well.”
Outside of the guards, Xavier Scott returns after an Honorable Mention All-NBC campaign, and Jack Sobczak is primed for a breakout campaign as he enters his third varsity season. Scott led the team in rebounding a year ago at just over six per contest.
“Xavier started some games for us at the end of the year last year,” Hickey said. “He is a tenacious rebounder, and he's really developed his skills on the offensive end, as well, to be a little bit more dangerous.
“We'll look for Jack to be just a pesky defender on the inside. He's one of our tallest kids at 6-2, and he'll have to guard the post. He's also worked really hard this offseason on developing his perimeter play on the offensive end.”
Hickey feels his team’s veteran presence will be a big strength this year.
“I'm sure if you asked some of our four-year starters how quickly the game moved for them their freshman and sophomore years, they would say it's totally different than the way it feels now,” he said. “No matter what, playing competitively and at a high level and being able to do it for four years for some of them, three for others, is a benefit to you because there really isn't much that you haven't seen.
“They understand the game, and they understand the way that we are trying to teach them the game, incorporating those things, and finding ways to win games. I think it's also a benefit because we've won some really tight games. We've lost some really tight games. We've been blown out. We've blown out other teams. We’ve kind of seen it all. We're going to kind of build on that consistency and hopefully, it will turn into wins for us this year.”
One key for Lake will be rebounding. The Flyers have just five players above six-feet tall, and Sobczak is the tallest at 6-2. Mitchell Maguire, a 6-1 senior guard, is among this group, including Sobczak, Scott (6-1), Ayers (6-1), and Foster (6-0).
“I think it's just important that we have a physical presence around us on the defensive end, especially on the perimeter and with our post defense, because if we allow teams to gain position on us, it is tough for us to challenge opposing bigs that are bigger and taller than us without fouling,” Hickey said. “We've really put, I wouldn't call it pressure, but emphasis on our perimeter defenders to make sure that we're trying to create disruptions on the perimeter so it's tough for teams to get into any type of post positioning against us.”
In the end, Lake’s guards will play a large role in how the team finishes the season.
“We’ve got a lot of them, and I think that helps,” Hickey said. “We're going to utilize our speed. We feel like our guards are very quick, and they can impose their will on opponents on both ends. Our guys are as competitive as they come. It's one of the things I like most about this team — they are ready to throw down, no matter who the opponent is, whether it's each other or whether it's an opposing team. It also builds that expectation of competition and understanding that it's going to start with our guard play each and every single night no matter what, and if they can dictate the pace of the game both offensively and defensively, we feel like we're going to be in a pretty good position to win games at the end.”
