This upcoming week Anderson will face two district opponents in Johnson and Akins. The Johnson game is away on Tuesday the 17th at 7:30 P.M. The Trojans will then face Akins on Friday the 20th at home with an 8:00 P.M. tip. Both these games will be massive for Anderson as they are in the second half of district play and will have significant implications regarding who will win the district.
Johnson will be coming into the game against Anderson with a 21-3 overall record and a 7-1 district record, which puts them tied for first with Lake Travis and Westlake. The Jaguars have a solid starting lineup, with everyone contributing to scoring, assisting, and rebounding the basketball. They also have solid height in 6’5 point guard Quinton Hairston and 6’7 stretch wing Sam Mckinney. Mckinney will be a tough matchup as he can shoot the three, post up low, and rebound the basketball. He showed this in his recent 14-point, 14-rebound double-double against Akins. 6’1 guard Jaxson Vandegarde averages 17.2 points a game and is a threat, especially on the offensive end. This will be the second time the Trojans face off against the Jaguars. The first game ended in a 59-68 Anderson home loss, with over half of Johnson’s points coming from Harrison with 20 and Vandegarde with 15. Limiting these two guards and making sure Mckinney doesn’t get going will be key to winning this game. On the Anderson side, guards Bennett Blackerby, Mitchell Whitlow, and Campbell Duncan will need big games just like they had the last time these two teams faced off, scoring 23, 17, and 11 points, respectively. If Bennett, Mitchell, and Campbell can play as well as they did and receive some more help, Anderson will have a great shot at winning this game.
Akins currently sits at the bottom of the district with an 11-12 overall record and a 1-7 district record. However, their record does not mean that this game should be taken lightly, as they beat Anderson the last time they played 68-59. This season the Eagle’s scoring has been pretty two-dimensional, coming from Cameron Morrow, who averages 16.8 points per game, and Caleb Hernandez, who averages 15 points per game. Against Anderson, this proved to be accurate, with Morrow scoring 24 points and Hernandez scoring 12, but a critical factor in why Akins won that game was because Jordan Correa, who averages 5.1 points per game, scored 22. The Trojans should win this game if Anderson can limit the scoring to Morrow and Hernandez. The Trojans will also have a significant height advantage in this game, with most of their lineup being 6’0 or taller, while Akins only has three players over 6’0, with the tallest being 6’1. Make sure to come to support the Trojans this Friday night at 8:00 P.M. to watch them battle it out against Akins.
