Junior Brady Mayo hopes to lead the Beaver Area basketball team to a long playoff run and conference wins.

Mayo has proved to be the Bobcats’ standout player this season and has had to learn how to not only be a great basketball player but to be a team leader.

With the boys basketball team losing many seniors last year leadership positions were opening up and Mayo was expected to fall into them.

Mayo, a well-rounded football, basketball, and baseball player, is known for being a great athlete but one who hadn’t had leadership opportunities in past seasons.

The basketball head coach, Casey Kaiser, relied on Mayo’s football season to develop Mayo’s maturity to better prepare him to lead younger players.

Mayo has had to lead both the offense and defense for the basketball team and has succeeded in not only leaving a legacy but in teaching and motivating the underclassmen.

Mayo has averaged 25 points per game, 4 assists per game, 4 rebounds per game, and a 86 percent free throw percentage.

Thanks to an increased amount of teamwork among the team the Bobcats have found a second gear and are currently on a three-game winning streak. The three games that they did win were pivotal conference matchups.

In their second game of the season against Central Valley January 26 the Bobcats were able to ride the bus home victorious. The final score for the Bobcats against their cross river rivals was 63-51.

Riding the winning feeling, the Bobcats played a home game against the Blackhawk Cougars January 30. The Cougar boys proved to be much worse than their section-leading girls with the Cougar boys falling to the Bobcats 75-56.

Beaver Area was set to tip off against Keystone Oaks February 2 but this game was postponed until a later date.

February 6 the Bobcats were ready for their game against the Ambridge Bridgers and ended up scoring a season high 78 points. The final score was 78-65.

Like the girls basketball team, the boys only have two regular season games remaining with a big conference matchup against North Catholic February 9 and a game against Freedom February 13.

Following these games the Bobcats will pivot their focus straight to their playoff run. Check the next BASD ECHO for coverage of the rest of the basketball season!