BRIGHTON — Flexing perhaps its two strongest assets – speed and size – the Pemayetv Emahakv Charter School boys basketball team opened its season Nov. 16 with a comfortable 36-18 win against Moore Haven Middle School.

Coupled with an earlier victory by its girls, PECS concluded the school’s first night of basketball in its new gymnasium with a sweep of Moore Haven.

The boys used a suffocating three-quarter and full-court press that frustrated Moore Haven. With a sea of bright white jerseys and flailing arms in their faces, the Terriers often struggled to move the ball past midcourt.

“We try to stress that in practice: get a tip, get your hands up, make it hard to pass. They did a good job of that tonight,” said PECS coach Kevin Jackson, whose deep bench allowed him to maintain heavy pressure most of the night. “We have the quickness and the depth this year. We can plug a lot of guys in to make it work.”

The depth extends to the big men, too. If opponents manage to break the press, they still have to deal with a towering trio that includes 6-foot-2 eighth-grader Robert Harris along with eighth-grader Kamani Smith and sixth-grader Jayton Baker, both of whom are about 6 feet.

“We have some size and speed,” said Jackson, whose starting five were Robert, Kamani and guards Silas Madrigal, Dante Thomas and Alex Valdes.

Robert made an immediate impact. In the game’s first minute, he grabbed a defensive rebound at one end and scored the team’s first points of the season on an offensive board at the other end. He finished with five points.

PECS’ hottest hands belonged to Silas, who brought rousing cheers from the crowd of about 100 by sinking four 3-pointers – including three in the first quarter – on his way to a game-high 17 points.

Silas’ sharp shooting staked the Seminoles to a 17-5 lead at the end of one quarter. Silas opened the second quarter with his fourth 3-pointer.

When the starters needed a breather, PECS showed just how deep its bench extends with Ramone Baker, Jaylen Baker, Kai Osceola and Donovan Harris handling guard duty.

PECS led 22-11 at the break. The Seminoles’ lead grew to 30-12 when Jayton notched his first middle school points on a basket in the lane.

Donovan scored the game’s final points on a 3-pointer from the top of the arc late in the fourth quarter.

Donovan echoed his coach’s sentiments, noting that there’s a lot to like about this year’s squad.

“We’ve got a lot of athletic people and big guys,” Donovan said.

Jackson expects his team will be competitive every night.

“Last year we were in every game,” he said. “We lost a couple games by two or three points. I feel this year we’ll be in every game.”

2015-16 Pemayetv Emahakv boys basketball team

Head coach: Kevin Jackson

1 – Alex Valdes

2 – Dante Thomas

3 – Silas Madrigal

4 – Ramone Baker

5 – Jaylen Baker

10 – Donovan Harris

11 – Kai Osceola

23 – Kamani Smith

24 – Jayton Baker

25 – Robert Harris