By Matthew Yoder
The Chincoteague boys basketball team opened the 2019-20 season Monday night with a hard-fought 57-49 victory over Middlesex. Chincoteague utilized their size and a balanced team effort to erase a halftime deficit. The Ponies trailed the Chargers by two, 25-23, at the break but kept their focus and managed the game well at the end. Chincoteague head coach Timmy Johnson pointed to his team’s cohesiveness as helping to secure the victory.
“We play together, there is no selfishness, we play hard whistle to whistle,” said Johnson.
The game ended with three Chincoteague players posting double figures in points. Trent Clark led with 14 but was backed by Brandon Bundick with 13 and Ayden Leonard with 12 points.
Bundick echoed his coach’s words postgame when describing his team’s effort in overcoming their slow start. A lot of these players grew up competing with one another and their familiarity helps in close game situations.
“Everybody works hard, there are no egos, we all have chemistry,” Bundick said.
Johnson describes his team as young and a team continuing to grow and build. He is optimistic that their talent and ability to absorb the fundamentals of the game will serve them well this year.
“They listen, they are a great group and they pay attention to detail,” Johnson said.
Johnson is confident his team will compete ably on the shore in what he sees as an evenly matched season for all.
“It seems like the district is pretty wide open and we returned a lot of our talent,” Johnson said.
