The Florala Wildcats (9-3) look to finish the year strong after a solid start to the 2018-19 high school basketball season.

“We’ve played some good games so far,” Florala head coach Troy Turman said. “We have played well. I’ve been really pleased with how we have progressed with such a young team. I’ve been extremely pleased with the effort, attitude and work ethic that they have had this year.”

Turman said that the Wildcats have to play tougher down the final stretch.

“We have to find the guys that are going to play hard-nosed basketball,” Turman said. “Our area is going to be very competitive and we are going to have to play tough. Another thing we have to do is get better at shooting free throws. We are really struggling right now with free throws. We are shooting 55-percent as a team and we need to be up around 7-percent. We have good shooters so I expect that number to keep getting better as the season goes.”

One of the biggest bright spots has been how willing the players are to learn, Turman said.

“Everyone of these guys are very coachable,” Turman said. “They listen to what you have to say and they want to learn. I’ve really enjoyed that. It’s been great watching them evolve as players. They are easy to motivate.”

Florala returns to action tonight in Kinston.