POINT OF EMPHASIS: Hun School boys’ basketball head coach Jon Stone makes a point during a timeout this season. Stone guided Hun to the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) semis and an 8-13 record this winter. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

For the Hun School boys’ basketball team, its loss to the Hill School (Pa.) in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) semis mirrored its up-and-down campaign.

“We had some good moments against Hill,” said Hun head coach Jon Stone whose team dropped the contest 49-31.

“We did get it to two points before half but we struggled to score in the second half and they played well.”

Hun struggled to find a rhythm this winter as it was one step forward, one step back in an 8-13 season.

“I think as a group we learned and the guys got better,” said Stone, reflecting on the campaign. “We would have loved to have some of those close games back.”

The Raiders did enjoy some memorable games in their learning process. “We beat Hill in the regular season and they ended up winning MAPL and their state championship,” said Stone “We beat Trenton Catholic (the eventual county champion) and they were a very good team.”

Hun was led by a good core of seniors which included Michael Bourke, Jason Geter, Daniel Osley, Taylor Heilman, Josh McGilvray, Xin Li, and Remi Janicot.

“It was a good group, the ones who have been with us for a long time really grew as players,” asserted Stone of the program’s Class of 2014.

Point guard Bourke starred as he grew into the team’s catalyst. “Bourke led us in scoring (13.4 points a game), assists (45), and steals (26); any time you lead a team in all three of those, you are doing well,” said Stone. “He led us in scoring more than 50 percent of the time.”

Along with Bourke, Hun got some good contributions from the two other senior guards, Geter (6.0 points a game) and Osley (3.2 points a game).

“Geter was at the school seven years and got better every season,” said Stone.

“He shot 53 percent from field and 47 percent from 3-point range which is ridiculous for a guard. Osley got better every day and played his best basketball at the end of the season.”

In the frontcourt, seniors Heilman (2.2 points a game), McGilvray (7.3 points and 3.8 rebounds), Li (3.7 points and 2.9 rebounds), and Janicot (5.6 points and 5.4 rebounds) played well.

“Taylor Heilman hadn’t played a lot before this season and gave us some valuable minutes,” said Stone.

“McGilvray did so much for us, particularly on defense. He played against some really good big men and held them to relatively low outputs; he played them hard. Li was a crowd favorite and had some great moments. He was another guy who got better and better. Remi dominated some games and when he did, we usually won.”

In Stone’s view, his trio of junior returners, Eric Williams (7.2 points), Kyle Borden (3.2 points), and Tucker Stevenson, have the potential to enjoy some great moments next winter.

“Williams had a good year, he was third leading scorer as a junior and made a lot of 3s,” said Stone.

“Borden gave us some really good minutes. He had been out for a year and a half so it was just good for him to be healthy and out there. Tucker is a great athlete; it helps a team to have a three-sport athlete. He got a lot better, he had the ability to compete and play hard.”