The comeback never completely coalesced, and the Warriors lost, 65-56. But it was a relentless effort from a Prince George’s County team that never stops working, one that has quickly created a reputation for good basketball in a local landscape crowded with talent.

The private school, located in Lanham, Md., has two high-level basketball squads: a prep team that features a mix of post-grad and high school players, and Coach Quinton Dulic’s varsity team, which took the court Sunday morning, and is made up entirely of high-schoolers. The traditional varsity team was started three years ago.

The Warriors quickly acquainted themselves with the basketball hierarchy, collecting talent from across the area and playing a relentless schedule. Last winter, they won the newly formed Maryland Private School State Basketball Tournament, formally introducing themselves as a program to beat.

“We felt so much pride about how far we had come in our second year,” said junior forward Frances Folefac. “Brining home that trophy meant a lot to the players, the coaches, the school — the whole program.”

That title-winning team was young, with no senior starters but a bright future. Then the Warriors, like several other scholastic teams in recent years, had their plans altered by a tumultuous offseason. Multiple players transferred out of the program, leaving Folefac as one of just two to return. Dulic spent the summer hunting down more talent. And as they began a new season, the Warriors looked less like a defending champion and more like a new group trying to find some chemistry.

“A lot of the new guys were coming from a situation where they were the number one option on their old team,” Dulic said. “So they had to learn how to play a role and in that way get ready for a college game. That’s been a big part of the work we’ve had to do this year.”

The ambitious schedule has made the process somewhat easier. Sunday’s game at South Lakes was the 26th of the season for the Warriors (20-6), more than most public schools play in a season. All of that time spent together, traveling to and from games against an array of national opponents, helped the team jell quickly.

“It’s a lot of games,” said sophomore guard Kamari Pointer, a transfer from Theodore Roosevelt. “Considering where I came from, it was an adjustment. And yes, it’s tiring, but ultimately it helps me prepare for the next level.”

When they’re not playing far-flung contenders, the Warriors compete in the Metro Private School Conference, a three-year-old league made up of 12 private schools from Maryland and Virginia. Featuring Mt. Zion, Fairfax Christian, Rock Creek Christian and Clinton Grace Christian, among others, the MPSC has quickly become one of the very best basketball leagues in the area.

“It’s gritty basketball in the MPSC,” Folefac said. “It’s going to take everything that we have. All the effort and talent we have, we’re going to need it in this conference.”