As the Lady Maroons closed out their opening basketball tournament this weekend, the Clinton boys basketball team will open theirs.

From the Gibson City-Melvin-Sibley Holiday tournament, the Maroons take on Olympia in their opener at 5 pm.

In his second year at the helm of the boys program, Clay Haurberg looks to improve on his team's 2-24 record last year.

Bringing back four of five starters should certainly be of benefit for the Maroons, who return 6-foot-5 big man Bowe Carter along with sophomore guard Jacob Overton, Coach Haurberg indicates he's looking for more defensive consistency from his kids.

He says quote-"For us to be successful, we’re going to have to play much better defensively. 14 of our 26 opponents scored 60 points or more, so we’re looking to improve that stat. One of the factors that contributed to that was the amount of turnovers we had which gave our opponents many more scoring chances. We’ll be working to keep our turnovers down."-end quote.

Haurberg also says he wants to see his team do a better job of rebounding, controlling the glass and get better shot selection on offense.

He also points to his junior class as a key to this year's team. He feels their minutes will need to be quality and says the group of four (Jason Love, Collin Underwood, Tanner White and Gunnar Klitzing) has looked good so far.

He says quote-"The rest of the kids are busting their tails too, and because of that, our practices have been much more intense and competitive. All of our kids are really beginning to focus in on what we need to do to become a better team."-end quote.

The Maroons open action tonight from GCMS at 5 pm. Hear all the action live on 92.3 FM WHOW and online at dewittdailynews.com.