NATCHEZ — Fewer games mean more conditioning drills for the ACCS boys’ basketball team.

And the results of those drills will be put to the test today as the Rebels take part in the Simpson Academy tournament.

ACCS head coach Rick Fife said his team has been progressing well so far this season as the Rebels sit on a 5-6 record.

“I think we’re making strides to get where we need to in order to play well in the district games,” Fife said. “Hopefully they’ll continue working hard to make those improvements.”

The goal of the conditioning drills the Rebels are running during the holiday break is to keep the players fresh and allow them to play up-tempo basketball, Fife said.

“We not only want to maintain our conditioning, but improve it,” Fife said. “I think they’ve responded well to our practices. They know the overall goal in what we do. We have to be in shape to play that type of (up-tempo) game for four quarters.”

Offensively, Fife said his team has been coming around lately, and is pleased with where they are at the midway point in the season.

“When we played Cathedral I thought we progressed,” Fife said. “We’re starting to gel a bit, and we’ve had some players coming off the bench that have made some strides.”

Fife also said defense has been the Achilles heel for the Rebels, and the team needs to improve with playing the press.

“We’re working harder on our zone-type defense, traps and presses,” Fife said. “Hopefully these next few games in the tournament will allow us to continue to improve.”

With ACCS being a senior-laden team, Fife said he’s pleased with the leadership being displayed by his upper classmen.

“We have seven seniors, and about five of them saw significant playing time last year,” he said.

“They’ve been good with the younger players. We’ve also had two transfers come in this year, one from Cathedral and one from Robert Lewis Middle School, and they’re starting to adjust a lot better and play our type of game.”

Now that ACCS will be seeing tournament action, Fife said he’s hoping to avoid a mid-season letdown for the second straight year.

“These games are good at keeping us conditioned over the break,” Fife said. “We didn’t (play in any tournaments) last year, and that came back to bite us a little bit.

“This year, we were able to get in this tournament, and I think the quality competition is going to help us get ready for district.”