Piedmont’s men’s basketball team made school history by becoming conference champions last month. The team competed against Reagan High School in Pfafftown NC and Julius Chambers High School in Charlotte NC, ending the season with an overall 19-8 win and in conference play, 7-3. 

“After [the] game against Reagan, I told our guys that we won because of our commitment to playing together,” said head coach Brett Jensen. “We’ve come a long way since the beginning of the year. Our guys have played in so many tough games and we’ve gotten better each step of the way.”

And though the team suffered a loss against Chambers, they viewed it as an opportunity for growth. 

“I feel like we could have improved on our defense more towards the end of the season, but other than that we shared the ball well and we played as a team. We emphasized on toughness and togetherness throughout the season” said junior point and shooting guard Fred Little. “I learned from my mistakes this season, and over the summer I am going to work to not make the same mistakes again.”

So what’s next for our players? “Right now I’m just focused on our guys this year. We’ll begin to set goals for next year with our team in the summer,” said Jensen.

Next season, the team will be classified as 3A instead of 4A. According to the North Carolina High School Athletic Association, teams are classified based on their realignment score, which is determined based on student population and attendance, athletic performance, and the number of students who receive government aid. All this means for Piedmont is different competitors and a different conference.