The Trojans proved all the doubters wrong. With a 6-10 non-district record, many people wondered if this Trojan team had what it takes to make it into the postseason. This uncertainty was taken up a notch when Anderson started district with a 1-5 record putting them at the bottom of the standings. Playoff hopes looked bleak, and many people began writing them the Trojans off. However, Coach Pittsford and the Trojan team had none of it and proceeded to finish district play on a blistering 8-3 run. This run included big wins against Lake Travis, Bowie, and Dripping Springs, which put the Trojans in a position to make the playoffs with a tie-breaker game against Dripping Springs.
Last night at 7:00 P.M., the big game was played at Westlake High School. By tipoff, the Anderson side of the stands was packed with parents, family members, and a student section buzzing with energy and excitement. The game started off low scoring, with Dripping Springs leading 7-6 after the first quarter. The initial scoring for the Trojans was led by Jaxon Gill, who scored all of the first eight points. The low scoring continued throughout the second quarter, and by halftime Dripping Springs was leading 20-14. However, Anderson came out of halftime looking like a brand new team and played one of their best quarters of the season. They started the third quarter on a 14-0 run led by Jaxon, Bennett Blackerby, and Mitchell Whitlow splashing threes from all over the court. This scoring spree allowed the Trojans to take a 40-26 lead after the third quarter and completely swing the game’s momentum. Anderson never looked back from this change in momentum and comfortably won the game 52-40.
A huge impact player for the Trojans was Jaxon Gill, who got hot in the first half when the rest of the team was struggling to get a bucket and was able to continue his momentum throughout the second half to help Anderson go on their critical scoring run. He credits this to Coach Pittsford Coach Swanson and their coaching staff, “It [his scoring run] started off with the coaches putting me in good position to knock down shots.” He also answered how the team got going after halftime, “In the second half, we started to feed off and trust each other, and we knew that our shots would start to fall, which, once they did, helped us get the win.” This was potentially the last basketball game for seniors like Bennett, Mitchell, and Fred Dale. When asked how this win felt with that thought in mind, Bennett said, “It feels great, we started out slow this year, but we came together as a team, and I’m proud of how these guys performed over the course of the season which really showed tonight.” The Trojans came out of halftime a new team with a new mentality that helped them win. Campbell Duncan says that Coach Pittsford helped them refocus their mindset, “Coach Pittsford said we held them [Dripping Springs] to 20 points, and we are going to find a way to score 41 if they score 40.” Coach Pitt ended up being right, as the Tigers scored 40 points, and this great defense, combined with the Trojan’s shots starting to fall, helped propel them to victory.
This Monday, February 20th, Anderson plays Stony Point in the first round of the playoffs. Stony Point finished the season unbeaten in their district, with a 29-1 overall record earning them the number five ranking in Texas. When asked how the Trojans will prepare for this game, Mitch said, “Stony Point is a good team, but we’re going to have a good game plan, and we are really hot right now, so I think Anderson is going to surprise a lot of people.
The game this Monday is at Eastside High School at 7:00 P.M. Make sure you are there, as the Trojans will need all the support they can get in this massive matchup against Stony Point.
