Back to back district titles. That’s the goal for the boys’ varsity basketball team as they work through their Concorde district season.

“We are looking to finish the regular season first in the district and have an automatic bid into regionals,” co-captain and senior Keegan Ruddy said.

Winning the district tournament for a second year has been the team’s goal since last year’s first round region tournament exit.

“We are hoping that our hard work in the offseason will get us where we want to be,” Ruddy said.

The team heads starts the second half of their district schedule with a record of 12-5, as of press time.

The mood around the team is excellent as they head into the final stretch.

“Overall I feel great, we had one off night against Oakton [Jan 10] but besides that we have played well throughout the season,” head coach Brian Nelson said.

Through the first part of the season the team has focused on defense. According to the Robinson Athletic Boosters website through 17 games the team has given up an average of 51.1 points per game in wins and 63.8 points per game in losses.

“So far we have been very consistent, when our defense is doing well we do well,” junior Matt Fall said.

The Rams’ use their defense to make their offense go.

“Our defense fuels our offense,” Fall said. “Even when we are having an off offensive night we can create offense with our defense.”

The offense is potent with the Rams’ scoring an average of 61.8 points in their 12 wins so far.

“Offensively we have a lot of guys who can put the ball in the basket, so we are not worried about our ability to score,” Nelson said.

The team plays in the Concorde district, considered by many to be the premier basketball district in the Northern region.

“We play in the toughest district in the region,” Nelson said. “You have to be ready every night; in this district everybody can beat everybody.”

The team feels that playing in the Concorde will prepare them for the Northern region tournament.

“Our district is stacked, but as long as we finish first or second the experience should help us as we get to the postseason,” Fall said.

In the Concorde games are always competitive and the majority of games in the district are within 15 points.

“We have been able to win a lot of close games so I think that puts us in a good position for the playoffs,” junior Avyn Johnson said.

The team is ready for the remainder of district play and they plan to stay with what works.

“We just need to continue to execute, we don’t need to reinvent anything,” Nelson said. “We just need to execute effectively.”

The Rams’ expect to win and have reiterated the goals they set forth when the season began.

Nelson said, “We want the number one seed in the district tournament, to repeat as district champions and to win the Northern Region.”