MOOSEHEART, IL - In the long course of a boys' basketball season, November games are often easy to forget.

But it is not overstating the case the Mooseheart's performance in the Somonauk Thanksgiving tournament was a perfect curtain-raiser to what is becoming a very solid 2006-07 campaign.

The Ramblers won that tournament and were 3-1 moving into the post-tournament portion of their schedule.

"A year before, we were 1-3 coming out of that tournament," Mooseheart coach Jeff Perales said. "That's a huge turnaround for us."

The Ramblers used the springboard of that weekend in Somonauk and have never really faltered. Mooseheart is 13-3 entering its final portion of the season.

"We've hit the bumps in the road, like any other team," Perales said. "With the record 13-3, I'm pretty satisfied with that. We've got a lot of tough games coming up."

Big games with Hinckley-Big Rock, Alden-Hebron and Elgin Academy comprise the squad's finishing trio of contests.

"We have four really tough games coming up before the end of the season," Perales said. "We'll have to keep the intensity up and the guys will have to stay in shape as we go through it."

Christmas Break always presents basketball challenges at Mooseheart. A majority of students head off-campus to spend the holidays with guardians or other family for more than two weeks. So in a time when other teams are playing their second round of tournament basketball -- the Ramblers are idle.

"Normally we have games the first week we come back from break," Perales said. "This year, we had a week to prepare. We always focus on conditioning when we come back. But we threw in some weight training and some weekend shootarounds."

Perales said his team's natural athleticism helped them stay in shape as they prepared for the 2007 portion of their schedule.

"The (post-holiday) rebound for the guys this year was better than I've ever seen in the past," Perales said.

Perales said his team continues to learn as the season progresses. Ramblers junior Mike Tovar has been a prolific scorer for the team who has worked on his jump shot in addition to his close-in scoring this winter.

"He is an awesome scorer," Perales said. "He scores great around the basket, but he needs to work on his jump shot. But he's been very helpful on the defensive end. He always wants to guard the other team's best player. He wants to take on that responsibility."

Perales highlighted senior Stephen Pinto as the "heart and soul" of the team.

"He's been a fabulous player," Perales said. "He and Tovar are our leading scorers. (Pinto's) a senior and he is better himself every year. He's a great force down low for us."

From strictly a win-loss standpoint, the current squad isn't on par with the 19-2 team Perales had in 2003-04, his first year as head coach at Mooseheart.

"We're not as smart as that team I had that first year -- yet, but we're going to get there," Perales said. "Things are starting to click now."

At the end of the season, Mooseheart will compete in the IHSA Byron Sectional complex. Seedings will be announced on Wednesday and the Ramblers will know who they will face in search of the school's first postseason victory since 1964.

"This is my fourth year now," Perales said. "I've been preaching for all of that time that the regular season's important. But the ultimate goal is to win in regionals."