STRAIGHT SHOOTER: Hun School boys’ basketball player Sage Mateo puts up a shot in a game this season. Senior guard and Cornell commit Mateo starred as Hun went 17-10 this winter, advancing to the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) semis. (Photo by Frank Jacobs III)
By Bill Alden
Although the Hun School boys’ basketball team ended the winter by suffering two tough losses in tournament play, the positives far outweighed the negatives in a bounce back campaign for the Raiders.
After going 9-17 in the 2024-25 season, Hun nearly doubled that win total this winter as it went 17-10.
Hun head coach Jon Stone enjoyed the ride this winter.
“It was a great group of guys, they really did well and bought into everything we did,” said Stone, whose team fell 94-88 to College Achieve in the first round of the Prep Open tournament after losing 59-52 to the Blair Academy in the Mid-Atlantic Prep League (MAPL) semis. “We probably threw a lot at them late that we didn’t always do because they could handle it. The IQ was really good. Their chemistry was really good. There was a really strong bond with the group. They got along well and they are also just fun to coach. The chemistry on and off the court helped and certainly the talent helped too.”
The Raiders displayed offensive talent in the loss to College Achieve on February 18 as Blake Hargrove scored 28 points with Eshan Kulkarni tallying 27 and Sage Mateo adding 20.
“It was a high scoring affair for sure,” said Stone. “We played well enough to win. It was a little unfortunate in the end, a couple of breaks didn’t go our way. They are a really good team, they have a lot of talent for sure.”
In the loss to powerhouse Blair four days earlier, Hun also played well enough to win as it led 45-41 going into the fourth quarter.
“We tried some things actually a little different defensively,” said Stone, whose team had lost 75-47 to Blair in a regular season contest on January 21. “We played a little more zone and tried to slow them down a little bit. We played well enough to win. It was unfortunate in the fourth quarter, we struggled to score and they didn’t.”
Although things went awry in the fourth quarter, Stone liked the overall effort he got from his players in the defeat to MAPL and Prep Open champion Blair.
“We were leading for three quarters, I think we could have done some things differently that would have helped us,” said Stone. “I was proud of the guys and their energy, they did everything we asked them to do as coaches, schemes and stuff like that and just playing hard.”
Over the course of the winter, senior guard and captain Sage Mateo (13.2 points and 4.0 rebounds a game in 2025-26) got the guys on the same page.
“Sage gave us a ton, he was a really strong leader all year long,”said Stone of Mateo, who has committed to attend Cornell and play for its men’s basketball program. “He did things from just leading by example to sometimes the things he would say on the court or off the court before games. He was just a really good leader for us all year long.”
Another senior guard, Eshan Kulkarni, enjoyed a breakthrough season, averaging 9.2 points and 2.0 rebounds a game.
“Eshan was just fantastic for us all year long,” said Stone. “He made a ton of shots, he shot some of our highest percentages of all of the guys. He is so confident with the ball in his hands and he gave us an extra guard. Sometimes we have three point guards on the floor and the other team couldn’t match up with three defenders so it was just a real advantage for us. He just had a terrific season, I am just so happy to see the year he had as a senior.”
The trio of seniors Charlie Juliana (1.3 points, 0.8 rebounds), Joe Poller (1.1 points, 1.1 rebounds), and Roan Eiben (1.2 points, 1.1 rebounds), gave the Raiders some good minutes off the bench.
“They were great all year long, they were the supporting cast,” said Stone. “They do what we ask them to do and were buying into their roles. They were coming out and giving us every bit that they could when they were in the games. The way they competed in practice every day, they were just tremendous. We had some of better practices that we have had in a while.”
Junior guard Blake Hargrove produced a tremendous all-around season, averaging 18.1 points, 5.6 rebounds, 3.7 assists, and 1.8 steals.
“He and Sage tied for leading assists, I think he was second in rebounds, he led the team in steals and he led it in deflections,” said Stone. “His numbers are really, really good and yet he has work to do. He can still get better.”
The arrival of junior transfer Jackson Cullert (15.1 points, 5.9 rebounds) made a big difference for the Raiders. “He was just a tremendous addition for us this year with his versatility,” said Stone. “Certainly there was his ability to shoot the ball but just his athleticism and his length as well. He is a really, really great addition.”
In the paint, junior Julian Van Hoeck (5.4 points, 4.0 rebounds) and sophomore Marshall Douglass (5.7 points, 5.0 rebounds) provided production down low.
“Julian is one of those glue guys. He does so many little things that sometimes you don’t always see in the stats and was just really consistent for us all year,” said Stone. “Douglass was really good too. He is a stat sheet stuffer. He will do a little bit of everything from rebounds to assists to shooting to blocking shots. He is so versatile and he can do a little bit of everything. He really provided a lot for us this year.”
Coming off such a positive season, Stone is confident that the program can do some good things going forward.
“It was such a quick year and part of that was because we were having so much fun,” said Stone. “This was a special group for sure. Obviously we are really sad to lose the five seniors but we have a lot coming back and we are super excited about next year for sure.”