The boys basketball team recently finished their 2022-2023 season, going 2-4 in region games, placing them 3rd in region 15.

Although playing bigger and more challenging schools in the preseason, Judge’s out-of-region record was 11-8. In these games, Judge faced off against big 6A and 5A schools and won such as Kearns, Roy, and Hunter. The team showed great potential in these games, yet couldn’t convert that success in region play and then losing in the first round of the state tournament to Summit Academy, 51-38.

Perhaps the highlight of the season was the two games against Juan Diego where the teams played in two nail-biters.

In the first game against Juan Diego, a home game on Jan. 13, Aaydan Saucedo showed why he finished second in MVP voting. Saucedo, a captain and the starting point guard for the team, took over during the third quarter, hitting six shots in a row and keeping his team in the game. However, Juan Diego hit some big shots down the stretch and ended up winning the game by four, 63-59.

The next game took place at Juan Diego. Tensions were at a high as Judge looked for revenge.

This game, Mauricio Lemus, the starting shooting guard for the team this year, got Judge off to a quick start, hitting four 3-pointers in a row. Then, during the rest of the first and second quarter, senior center Manase Mangala led a defensive and rebounding clinic. Going into the second half Judge led by 10. But, Juan Diego came out of the second half with newfound energy, and the lead was quickly cut to just three. It was back and forth for the rest of the game, but with some big shots down the stretch by Saucedo, senior Jackson Boltax, and Lemus, Judge prevailed with a final score of 42-41.

This year, the team saw some coaching adjustments as Zues Martinez, a skills trainer, joined the staff. The team speaks well of the new addition, saying that “he helped out a lot during practice” by training the team to be better ball handlers.

The young team got even younger this year as three freshmen, Neur Deng, Majak Deng, and Aymen Ismail, got some serious varsity minutes. As Saucedo described, next year, as the team loses two of their starting seniors and anchors of the team, (Jackson Boltax and Manase Mangala) the team “will have a couple of younger guys that will have to step up.”