By Bob Nuse, Sports Editor
The West Windsor-Plainsboro High North boys basketball team came into the season knowing the potential was there to be a pretty good team., Six games into the season, the Knights seem to be realizing that potential. North evened its record at 3-3 with a well-played 55-39 win over Robbinsville on Tuesday, showing flashes of just how good the team can be this year., “Saubhagya (Balyan) and Tristan (Dunn) are the only two coming back that played significant minutes last year at the varsity level,” North coach Tim Stevens said after the win. “So we’re trying to introduce a lot of guys to the game. The speed is a lot different. We have some sophomores, juniors and seniors that are playing for the first time. It’s more about clicking. Once we click we have different ways that we can hurt you. Tonight was the first time I thought we really used that to our advantage.”, Dunn and Jaden Sands each scored 17 points to lead the scoring for the Knights, while Brian Murohy turned in a superb defensive effort against Robbinsville’s high-scoring Lucas Olshevski. Sands was the offensive star in the opening half, while Dunn keyed the offense in the second half., “Our shot selection was better and in the first half we used that to our advantage,” said Stevens, whose team is scheduled to play at Trenton today. “We hit some big shots and then in the second half we got some baskets in transition and that helped us fight off their second half comeback., “When we go into this game and Lucas is coming off a 33-point performance, Murph accepts that challenge. He works his tail off. When he can go in and shut a kid down like that it truly makes our lives a lot easier around the perimeter and being able to execute at both ends of the court.”, The Knights have traded wins and losses this season since opening with a tough defeat at Lawrence. They are hoping the win over the Ravens is the start of a streak in the right direction., “We let the first one get away,” Dunn said. “We turned the ball over a lot. We were sloppy. We could have executed better. Now we’re starting to put it all together. Me and Saubhagya are the only two returning players that played. So we’re trying to mesh right now., “What really helped us what that over break we were really going after each other in practice and pushing each other to get better.”, Dunn does whatever is needed on the court to help the team win. He brings experience along with Balyan., “I mostly try to bring the guys together because we have to execute,” Dunn said. “There is no one dominant guy on our team. We are trying to get an all-around team game going., “Last year it felt like guys tried to do it a lot by themselves and it just didn’t work. So we had to try to do it a different way by sharing the ball and finding the right shots.”, With so little varsity experience on hand, Stevens knows his team will face some ups and downs this year. But he also knows there is the potential to be something special by the end of the season., “It’s a rollercoaster having new guys,” Stevens said. “One day it is great and the next day we might have a little lull. But these guys are fighters and they work hard. When we are all on the same page I think we can do some great things.
