Over the past few seasons, Northampton senior Tristen Pinnock has been part of the ups and downs of the basketball program.

Two years ago, Pinnock was part of a regular rotation that won 21 games and advanced to the state semifinals. Last year, Pinnock was a key part of a team that lost 90-percent of its offense and was in a rebuilding mode.

This season, the Konkrete Kids brought back a number of returnees to the lineup, and they have jelled early to produce a 7-2 start after nine games. As the Kids started a new year, Pinnock believes his team can maintain it status.

“We are definitely confident heading into the next stretch of games,” said Pinnock. “We’re moving the ball pretty well right now, and that has contributed to a lot of our success.

“We have games where we have multiple players scoring 10-plus points, and that also will be pivotal for winning games in the future.”

The Kids have had a balanced attack led by senior Brody Graff, who is averaging nearly 15 points per game and fellow senior J.J. Kolumber, whose average hovers around 13 points per game. Sophomore Noah Walakovits has been a surprise, averaging nearly nine points a game, and Pinnock has been around eight points per contest.

Head coach Matt Scholl has been pleased with his scoring balance, but he realizes the importance of the other side of the floor.

“We are scoring significantly more points than we have been for the past few years, but our defense will determine where we end up at the end of the season,” he said. “Our goal is to always keep a team in the 40s.”

Like Pinnock, Scholl knows the significance of the second half of the season.

“We have to play Parkland, Emmaus, and Central Catholic again, and Whitehall and Allen twice,” added Scholl. “Our division is loaded as usual, so we still have an uphill climb if we want to qualify for leagues.”

Pinnock sees his senior season as another opportunity to play. He and his teammates will seek to regain the respect they lost from last season’s 10-13 record.

“We had a rough season last year,” said Pinnock. “We want to prove that we belong in the EPC (East Penn Conference) tournament and in districts.”