The tallest man on the basketball court many nights, Crystal Lake Central’s 6-foot-7 Danny Spychala does not have a slam dunk on the season.

“Not yet,” Spychala said.

What hasn’t eluded the athletic junior and his teammates is victory.

The Tigers’ 67-28 win over host Harvard in a nonconference game Thursday night hiked their record to 6-2 under first-year coach Brian Seaver, equaling their victory total from each of the past two seasons.

“We are aware of that,” Spychala said after scoring nine points and grabbing nine rebounds. “We’re all just improving as a team. Our new coach, Coach Seaver, has really helped improve this program. We’re all pumped that we’re winning games and, more importantly, playing together as a team. We all love each other.”

Seaver, a longtime boys varsity track and field coach who’s in his 30th year teaching in District 155, has coached freshman and sophomore basketball at Prairie Ridge and Central. He rejoined the Tigers program last season, serving as head coach Dan Oziminski’s JV coach.

Seaver inherited a team that returned several players who saw plenty of action last season either as a starter or rotational player. The group included Spychala, guard/forward Avery Lee, guard Johnny Geisser and guard Bud Shanahan.

Sonny Shanahan, Bud’s twin, scored a game-high 14 points, including two 3-pointers in the first quarter, against Harvard (1-7). Lee had eight points and five rebounds (all offensive), while JR Mason and Thomas Loizzo each scored eight points coming off the bench. Geisser added five steals.

“We’re keeping to playing as a team, not one on one,” said Lee, who’s a returning starter. “We’re swinging the ball a lot more. It’s just been a lot more fun pushing the ball around and putting up shots.”

Seaver, whose roster is comprised of all seniors and juniors, played 13 players against Harvard, and 12 scored. The Tigers bolted to a 20-8 lead after one quarter and were up 34-14 at halftime.

“We’re just trying to play hard and play together,” Seaver said. “The kids are buying into what we’re trying to teach them. It’s been a good experience.”

While the Tigers have been learning new offensive and defensive systems, they have proved to be quick learners. Their win over Harvard was their third straight, something they never accomplished last season. They also have two Fox Valley Conference wins after going 1-17 in FVC play last season.

“We have a new offense, new defenses,” Lee said. “Defense has been winning us games, honestly. Defense is a big thing for us. We try to play defense and push the ball, and on the offensive end we make sure to get it inside, which has been big for us. The more inside touches, the more 3-point shots as well.”

Winning breeds extra excitement even during practice.

“It’s a lot more fun,” said Spychala, who’s averaging a team-leading 12.5 points through eight games. “I feel like we’re all a lot more focused during practice this year. It’s really just a great time everyday to play, to get up and play with my friends. It’s a good time to be playing basketball around my buddies.”

Harvard was led in scoring by junior guard Julian Acosta, who had nine points.

Hornets coach Brian Heidtke called two timeouts during a running-clock fourth quarter. The Hornets trailed 55-22 after three, having committed 20 turnovers.

“We tried a couple of things at the end,” Heidtke said. “What’s nice is we can give them that tape and go back and look at it – ‘Here’s what we drew up at the timeout. How well did we execute it, and how can we get better at it?’ We’re not winning a state championship, so it’s about teaching the game, teaching some life lessons and having some fun."