The Trojan basketball team kicked off their 2023 campaign on January 6th with a game at Dripping Springs. Looking to ride their momentum after a 58-37 win against Pflugerville, the Trojans would need to get through a good Tiger squad. While they were able to limit Dripping Spring’s leading scorer Jaxon Reagan, who averages just under 11 points a game, to 8 points, their second and third leading scorers, Luke Spozio and Judson Loe, went off for 18 and 14, respectively. An impressive 25 points by Campbell Duncan, helped by 7 assists by Mitchell Whitlow, was not enough to help put the Trojans on top. The game ended with a final score of 71-54 Dripping Springs
Anderson faced another district opponent next in Austin High. After a tough loss, the Trojans were looking for a bounce-back game. They came out hot and ended the first half with a 20-8 advantage over the Maroons, but Austin High cut this lead to 7 after the third quarter. However, the Trojans were able to hold off the Maroons in the fourth quarter and win the game 41-38 due to clutch free throws by Jaxon Gill and Fred Dale, plus a pull-up jumper by Mitchell Whitlow. Bennett Blackerby ended the game as Anderson’s leading scorer and assist man with 13 points and 3 assists.
Looking to continue their momentum, the Trojans would have to face a tough Bowie team sitting at a 14-7 overall record and a 4-3 district record putting them in 4th place in the district. The Bulldogs came out on a 6-0 run, but Anderson was able to battle back and cut the lead to 12-10 Bowie after the first quarter. The second quarter was back and forth, but Bowie was able to extend their lead to 6 points leading Anderson 25-19. After halftime, Bowie was able to jump to an 11-point lead, but Anderson went on a 12-7 run to cut the lead to 6 again, facing a 33-39 deficit going into the fourth quarter. The Trojans were able to start chipping away at this lead, and with 1:40 left on the clock, Campbell Duncan hit Bennett Blackerby on a beautiful basket cut and finish to give Bennett 10 points in the 4th quarter and the Trojans a 47-46 1-point lead. Bowie responded by drawing a foul and regaining their 1-point lead. On the last Anderson possession of the game, the Trojans had the ball and shot a 3-pointer that rimmed out, but an excellent rebounding effort by Campbell drew a foul and put him at the line to shoot 2. He sunk the first one, tying the game at 48 but missed the second, leaving Bowie with just under 13 seconds to get a bucket. Bowie put the ball into their season-leading scorer Lucas Bole’s hands, but great defense by Mitchell Whitlow on a pull-up jumper sent the game to overtime.
The first overtime saw no scoring and ended with Bowie holding the ball for a minute and a half due to the no-shot clock rule in high school before Mitchell created a turnover, sending the game into double overtime. Bowie won the tip and missed a shot. Anderson took a quick shot that also missed, and Bowie held the ball for the last 2:09 of the overtime period. This time Bowie’s leading scorer for this game, Braeden Spinden, who finished with 17 points, took the shot, but great defense by Fred Dale sent the game into triple overtime. This time Anderson won the tip, which proved to be huge. On their first possession, Fred threw a dime to Mitchell on a backdoor cut which not only gave the Trojans the lead but forced Bowie away from their holding-the-ball strategy. Anderson then got a stop, and Mitchell scored another layup. Then the next possession on defense, he got a steal on a pass and got fouled on the other end, knocking down both free throws. With under 45 seconds left, Mitchell took over the game by hitting a running floater to give Anderson a 56-52 lead, putting his triple overtime point total to 8. A Bulldog free throw and layup as time expired secured Anderson’s 56-55 win. This gutty win puts Anderson at 6th in the district with a two-game winning streak and in an excellent position to perform well in the most crucial part of the season, which is coming up and starts with a Johnson team that is tied for first in district with a 7-1 record.
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