Boys Varsity Basketball: Season Outlook

This year, the St. Luke’s boys basketball team will look to win its third straight Fairchester Athletic Association Championship.

 

The Storm has won four of the last six FAA tournament championships. Head coach Tony Newsom returns, along with assistant coaches Evan Downey and Tom Whelan, to try to make it five out of seven.

 

St. Luke’s is captained by senior trio Ethan Crawford, Mason Pratt, and Thomas Durvasula, and Newsom has been thrilled with their leadership so far: “Our captains have done a great job of setting the tone for how we practice every day. Their leadership has been outstanding, and I expect them to push the team forward.”

 

It has been a difficult start for the Storm, who won its season opener against Holderness School (New Hampshire), before the team dropped its next three games against Pomfret School, Masters School, and Greenwich Country Day School. All three contests were extremely close. The team bounced back with a win against Hopkins School, before it suffered another loss to Vermont Academy at the Basketbull Hoopfest Tournament, in Springfield, Massachusetts.

 

There is a youthful look to this year’s squad, with a number of new players already impressing head coach Newsom: “The freshman group of Billy Galvin, Bryan Wilson and Peter Uzgiris has been superb. We have also added Gavin Sommers ’24 and Asher Abeles-Tierney ’25, who I expect will play key roles, too.”

 

With so many new faces, Newsom knows his squad needs time to gel, but he believes they are getting close to producing their best basketball yet: “We have a lot of new players, and some of our returning players will be in different roles this season, so it's going to take a little time to figure out things. Every day, I feel we're getting better as a team. By mid-January, I think everyone will be more comfortable and start to click.”

 

Despite being 2-4 on the season, Newsom trusts his players will compete for another title: “The goals of our team are always the same. We want to win the FAA regular season and conference tournament, as well as qualify for the New England tournament. We know the challenges ahead. It’s going to be about getting the new players comfortable with how we do things in our program. We need everyone on our roster to play at a high level to achieve our goals.”

 

The Storm returns to the court on Friday, Jan. 6, at The Frederick Gunn School (Connecticut), before hosting Masters School (New York), on Saturday, Jan. 7.