BIG BEN: Hun School boys’ basketball player Ben Seipt drives around a foe in a recent game. Last Saturday, Seipt, a resident of Woking, England, scored a game-high 19 points to help Hun defeated the Mercersburg Academy (Pa.) 60-48. The Raiders, who improved to 6-7 with the victory, were slated to play at Lawrenceville on January 20, at St. Joseph’s (Metuchen) on January 22, at the Perkiomen School (Pa.) on January 25, and at Medford Tech on January 25 before hosting Peddie on January 27. (Photo by Frank Wojciechowski)

While Ben Seipt has proven that he is one of the top basketball players his age in England, playing for the country’s Under-15, 16, 17, and 18 national programs, he wanted to test himself in the U.S.

“I have played in America; I was on an English team that came over three summers playing AAU,” said Seipt, a resident of Woking, England.

“It is a different game, I love playing over here. It was a dream of mine to come over here for a year.”

Seipt’s dream came true this fall when he came to the Hun School to play for its boys’ basketball program.

“The team is great, we get along well,” said Seipt, a 6’5 forward. “We always hang out in the dorms, everyone gets along. I don’t feel like I am an outsider. Obviously I am foreign but I don’t feel like it.”

A couple of months into the season, Seipt is feeling a comfort level with the American game.

“It is definitely quicker, more intense,” said Seipt. “It is a different attitude to the game. When someone turns it over they are coming right back at you. Everyone can do everything a little bit better, everyone is a bit more athletic, everyone can shoot a little better, everyone can handle it better. I am adjusting, it just has been a great experience.”

Last Saturday as Hun hosted the Mercersburg Academy (Pa.), Seipt’s shooting was a great asset as he scored 10 points in the first quarter to help Hun jump off to a 15-4 lead over the Blue Storm.

“I had a good day of practice yesterday so I was feeling confident coming in,” said Seipt.

“I just wanted to play relaxed and let the game come to me. We always have an emphasis on moving the ball and I got a couple of wide open shots and I knocked them down.”

When Mercersburg knocked the Hun lead down to 53-47 in the fourth quarter, the Raiders took care of business, pulling away to a 60-48 win.

“We had some illnesses this past week and some of us are feeling under the weather so I guess maybe concentration went a tiny bit,” said Seipt.

“We pulled it out, we just focused. It was a great learning experience for us to work through that kind of thing and we came out on the right end thankfully.”

Seipt hit four straight free throws in the last 1:05 to help seal the win for Hun.

“It is just practice; we shoot a lot of free throws every practice,” said Seipt, who ended the day with a game-high 19 points.

“It is something I work on, it is something I pride myself on. In the late game situations, you have to step up and drill it.”

Hun head coach Jon Stone was proud of his team’s work against Mercersburg.

“We got off to a great start; we came out and shared the ball really well and hit some shots,” said Stone.

“I thought our defense was really, really good. We have been really good some games and not so good other games. I think today, in particular, in the first and third quarters, we were really sharing the ball as well as we have all year and it really made a difference.”

In Stone’s view, Seipt’s production made a big difference for the Raiders.

“Ben was terrific; I thought he came out and played with some confidence,” said Stone.

“He got good looks early. He was able to benefit from the sharing of the ball that we had. He’s more than capable of scoring. On those clutch free throws, he just stepped up and drilled them.”

Hun’s clutch play in overcoming Mercersburg’s late run was another positive.

“Any time you compete enough to make some plays to pull it out is important,” said Stone. “When you can learn from your mistakes and still get a win, it helps.”

With the Raiders having lost 61-42 to Blair last Wednesday, Stone was happy to see his players rectify some of the mistakes made in that setback.

“We struggled in that game; we weren’t good,” said Stone. “It is always good to get a win to erase some of the thoughts of the loss. We have got a tough week this week, starting with Tuesday.”

Stone believes his team can hold its own in the always-tough Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL).

“I feel like it is that way every year,” said Stone, whose team was slated to play at Lawrenceville on January 20, at St. Joseph’s (Metuchen) on January 22, at the Perkiomen School (Pa.) on January 25, and at Medford Tech on January 25 before hosting Peddie on January 27.

“Blair is very, very good and so is Hill and Peddie. We have Lawrenceville on Tuesday and they are very strong. Any one of us can beat anybody on a given night so it makes for a fun league.”

Seipt, for his part, believes that Hun should have plenty of fun over the rest of the season.

“We had a bit of a rough patch before Christmas; I think Christmas break came at just the right time,” said Seipt.

“We all came back refreshed. We come into every game to win it. We are going to take it one game at a time and see how far we can get. We would like to win the MAPL and make a run at the states. I think we will do well.”