Fast-Paced Carver Vo-Tech Boys Basketball Off to Winning Start

Carver Vo-Tech boys basketball is enjoying one of their best starts to a season in recent memory. The Bears are 9-6 this season, having already enjoyed victories over Bluford Drew Jemison, Digital Harbor and Lansdowne.

The team is a senior laden bunch, with seven of them on the roster. The seven seniors are joined by three juniors, one sophomore and one freshmen.

"We've basically been in every game that we've lost this year, so I know that with a couple of adjustments, later in the season we'll be able to come out on top of those close games," head coach Montoya Wooten said. "Even with seniors, we're still learning how to win and learning how to play games the right way. We're doing a great job of learning on the fly."

One of those close losses was to Baltimore County powerhouse Dulaney. Carver Vo-Tech played Dulaney tough on the road throughout the entire game, before losing 61-56. Even though the team finished on the wrong side of the scoreline, Wooten felt more confident that the team was going to be in good shape going forward.

If the Bears are going to keep playing well, they'll need to keep getting big performances from a trio of seniors. Antonio McCan, Reggie Winchester and Shyheim Moore have been leading the Bears in most statistical categories this season.

McCan is team's leading scorer, averaging an impressive 18 points per game. He's also been getting it done in other areas too, hauling in five rebounds and three steals per game.

Winchester is right behind McCan, averaging 16 points per game. On the boards, Winchester is averaging six rebounds a game, in addition to five steals and four assists. Moore has averaged 12 points per game thus far, chipping in five steals and four assists per game.

The trio has been vital to Carver employing its uptempo brand of basketball.

"Even though we want to get out and run, we still want to be disciplined in our approach to the way we play," Wooten said. "That means taking good shots, making the simple pass and executing the fundamentals of the game and playing tremendous defense."

The team's play has led Wooten to having some pretty high postseason expectations for his squad. Last season, Carver won the Division III Baltimore City Championship, a trophy Wooten hopes the Bears will claim again this year.

Wooten also expects the Bears to make some noise when the MPSSAA playoffs begin.

"We're an undersized team with huge hearts and major work ethic," Wooten said. "We prepare well for our opponents and my guys are very confident in their ability to represent Baltimore in the 2A North championship bracket."