By Sean Bursk
Archbishop McNicholas High School and Stephen T. Badin High School came head-to-head on the court last Tuesday evening. The Rockets Varsity Boys’ Basketball Team defeated the Rams at McNicholas, continuing their 3-0 win streak.
The game on December 12, 2025, was the home opener for McNick. Since the theme for the game was “white out,” students had the opportunity during lunches to win an old white basketball jersey by playing a game of knockout.
Tip-off for the varsity game was at 7:30 p.m. Starting center, senior Matthew Ehlers said the Rockets came into game with a focused mentality. “We knew had to play harder than them,” he said. The match resulted in a Rocket victory over the Rams in a 55-41 final score. The win marks the third of the season for the Rockets, first winning at Roger Bacon (W 56-41) and again at Chaminade Julienne (W 67-47).
Away games typically draw a much less packed student section than home games, and players said they noted the difference. Ehlers said, “A packed student section can make up to an 8-point difference. It’s definitely important to have a student section there.” McNicholas will again face Badin on January 23, this time on the Badin court.
Looking forward, Ehlers said, “We can go far, we can definitely win the GCL this year, if we keep playing at this level.” Thinking back on their mentality coming into the game, Ehlers again had this to say, “We knew we had to play harder than them… and we did.”
The McNicholas Milestone 