Clarendon Hall varsity boys' record-breaking win proved a point

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Clarendon Hall varsity boys swept across Dorchester Academy on Tuesday, January 29, with a record-breaking 103-41 win. According to Coach Anthony Reitenour, the boys played cleanly, pushing hard to widen the team’s lead. However, there’s more to the story than a strong win. Clarendon Hall played Dorchester earlier in the year with a heartbreaking result. Clarendon Hall won, but it was met with less-than-polite responses. Several players discovered negative social media posts and text messages from the losing team, resorting to racial slurs in several cases, which both players and Reitenour saw. “In the first game, we didn’t press very hard,” said Reitenour. After jumping out to an early and wide lead, Reitenour let his first string sit out to give other team members court experience. He didn’t feel the team needed to push for a huge win. “We played nice,” said Reitenour. “There was no need to run the score up on them.” However, after the backlash from Clarendon Hall’s win, the team took it to the courts. “We didn’t respond in a negative way,” said Reitenour. “We chose to be professional, go on the basketball court and play our hardest basketball for four quarters without holding anything back.” Reitenour states Clarendon Hall has grown in diversity, with a higher ratio of African American students than in past decades. “We’re trying to break some barriers and get some people out of the mindsets they had,” said Reitenour. “We’re doing great things over here.” Coach and team were disheartened when their clean win was sullied by insults. However, Reitenour insists the boys didn’t get mad, in spite of their disappointment. The boys held on to their class and dignity, playing with heart and style rather than letting anger overtake them. “There were smiles and handshakes, and it was a frien-emy ending to the game. There was no drama,” said Reitenour. “I felt we had to make a statement, so we did.” The team followed the win with a 98-52 victory over Colleton Prep on Friday, bringing their record to 23-0 on season.