The JV basketball team has been faced with adversity with minor injuries and minor mistakes made in games and in practice. With that being said, they have still managed to overcome odds and make games exciting. They have done this by either just falling short or completing incredible comebacks. Oratory faced Morristown Beard and Hillsborough in their own Christmas tournament, and in both, they made the games very fun to watch. Although they won in the semifinal and lost in the championship, they managed to fight hard in both games.

Morristown Beard 12/28

Although the game started off slow for the Rams, they were still able to win this game by a large margin. The Rams would be led by Freshmen Ryan Fay and Sophomore Henry Bolster, who scored 17 and 13 points. Will Kostka would fall just behind with 10 points along with a Jack Olohan 7. Aidan Fahy would lead the Rams with 6 rebounds, and also contributed 4 points. Ben Gaffney, Eric Devomecourt, and Kingston Nnadi would score their first points of the season with Gaffney having 4, while Devomecourt and Nnadi both having two. Stauffer would lead the team in assists per usual by having 5 – which ties a season high. The Rams would walk out of this one by beating Mo Beard 55-25 which would book their ticket in the tournament championship.

Hillsborough 12/29

As a result of the Morristown Beard game, the Rams would then face a very strong Hillsborough team. The Rams would find themselves down by 13 points at the start of the game and would try to dig themselves out by the end of the first quarter – only being down by nine. The Rams would continue the same play by quickening the pace and going on a run to start the 2nd half, where they slimmed down the Hillsborough margin to just three points. The Rams would never be able to lead against Hillsborough, but they would keep the game close instead. Towards the end of regulation, Hillsborough would make their free throws to give them a 61-54 win for the chip. Freshman Ryan Fay would lead the scoring with 24 points accompanied by a Will Kostka 13. The Rams are set next to meet with a strong Morris Catholic team to try to get back to a .500 record.