When it comes to boys hoops, it hasn’t been easy in Pembroke lately.

The boys’ basketball team at Bryan County High School struggled to win games in recent years — so much so that last year’s 5-21 mark was an improvement over previous seasons.

But first-year coach David Elmore expects that to change, and sooner rather than later as the Redskins make the leap into Region 2-AA after decades in Region 3-A.

"We have a great shot at being successful this year," Elmore said. "Even though we have moved into a higher classification, I feel that we have the athletes to compete at that level."

To that end, Elmore hopes to take advantage of his team’s athleticism and stresses hard-nosed basketball.

"We believe in physical, disciplined defense," he said. "We will emphasize rebounding and pushing the basketball up the court for potentially easy baskets."