Fluorescent lights reflect off the court with the sounds of a screeching whistle and squeaking shoes bouncing off the hardwood floor as the boys basketball team brings their A-game to the start of a new season.

Last year, the team ended the season 13-7, and this year the team plans to go further than before.

Brooks McKnight, a junior point guard and shooting guard, is returning to play in his third season.

“Our season went well last year but did not finish how we expected or wanted it to,” McKnight said. “We felt we should have made a much deeper playoff run than we did. We faced many ups and downs throughout the season. One of the downs was for sure losing that Dallastown game. It put a lot of pressure on us to basically win out if we wanted to make the playoffs.”

The boys work together on and off the court to create a team that knows how to take wins and losses.

“What makes our team different is the genuine love and family aspect that we have,” McKnight said, “You will see teams argue and fight on the court a lot of the time which is something you won’t see from us a lot.”

McKnight believes that this sport will have an ever-lasting effect on his life.

“What made me want to continue basketball into high school was the friendships and forever memories I will have from it,” McKnight said, “I can recall some specific moments off the top of my head that I will for sure tell people about when they ask me what I did in high school.”

Cooper Sistrunk, senior shooting guard and small forward, feels that last season could have gone on longer. The district game loss against Hershey had a large impact on the boys.

“ If we had done more and played more together, we would have had a better chance of winning and a better chance of making an impact on the state level,” Sistrunk said.

As a senior, Sistrunk has high expectations to be the best leader he can be, whether that is on or off the court.

“I think being a leader is crucial as a senior; you need to teach everyone how to play together and how to help the team in big moments,” Sistrunk said. “I also feel that I am a communicator helping everyone get where they need to be and making sure everyone has that chemistry on the court.”

Johnny Boampong, a senior point guard, believes that team bonding plays a big factor in the boys’ performance and connections with each other as teammates and friends.

“I think it [team bonding] did have an impact because of us going out to eat, hanging out with each other helped build chemistry, and I think that helps in our games,” Boampong said.

The boys work to be the best teammates they can be because they believe it is what matters in a good team.

“They [teammates] have a pretty big impact, because if I’m having a bad day, they can help me out, and if I’m having a good day, they can continue to uplift me,” Boampong said.

Sistrunk and Boampong look forward to playing their last season with the Warriors and leading their team to victory.

The boys will play this Friday at West York.