9-1.
10-2.
11-1.

Despite dominant records in each of the last three district seasons, there is still one thing clawing at the basketball team – there’s no zero in the loss column.

Bellaire basketball began their district season 1-0 after a 64-40 statement win against Heights on Friday, Dec. 8. After losing to Lamar in the final district game last season, the Cardinals spent the offseason improving on last year’s mistakes in hopes of having their first undefeated district record since 2010.

“I expect us to go undefeated,” junior and starting guard Kohlman Dutton said. “We should be every year, but we lost the final game last season, so I think we’ll definitely be undefeated this year.”

The Cardinals were unable to establish an offensive rhythm and committed a significant amount of turnovers in the first quarter. Heights capitalized on their shaky start and quickly took the lead, but junior Shelton Henderson’s 10 points in the first 8 minutes kept Bellaire tied with the Bulldogs 13-13 at the end of the opening quarter.

“I was just trying to find my flow,” Henderson said. “I wasn’t trying to force anything, but I was trying to get what came to me and start off fast.”

In the second quarter, Bellaire’s defense ramped up and held Heights to just seven points. Junior Anthony “LJ” Andrews, who was benched early in the first quarter, controlled the paint on both sides of the court in the second half as Bellaire’s defense found their form late.

“I knew that I had to just keep playing,” Andrews said. “I have played too many games to be messed up over a few turnovers.”

Not only did Andrews level up after halftime, but the entire team – reminiscent of last year’s near-perfect district campaign – ramped up their defensive intensity and stonewalled the Bulldogs’ sputtering offense.

“In the huddle, Coach Glover was telling us to be aggressive on defense and let the calls come,” junior guard,” Ejypt Gibbs said. “ We had to stay intense and play as a team.”

Dominant throughout the entire game, Henderson never released the gas pedal and remained the team’s X-factor in the second half. He pulled through for his team and finished with 32 points on 14-20 shooting – just eight points less than the Bulldogs’ entire team.

“I was just playing through the offense, giving what the defense gave me and having the killer’s mentality,” Henderson said.

The undefeated district title may have slipped through their fingers last season, but this season Coach Glover’s men are more motivated to become the first undefeated powerhouse in over a decade and ultimately push towards a lengthy playoff run.

“I think we can go as far as we want to go,” Henderson said. “The only one stopping us is us, so we need to keep pushing through districts and get to the state playoffs.”