It was late in the 3rd quarter, and the Trojans had stretched their lead over the Eagles to 10, the largest of the night. It looked like Anderson was pulling away to earn their first district win of the year. Still, a 4th quarter run by Akins made this one interesting late, leading to Coach Swanson and co, earning a narrow 50-48 victory behind the play of senior Campbell Duncan and sophomore Noah Perkins.
Duncan took advantage of an undersized Akins team, torching them for 20 points on 10/18 shooting and 14(!) rebounds. This was Dunc’s 3rd double-double of the season, but his first since November 17th against Winn High. The Eagles had no answer for him inside, as he used his 6’5 frame to score all 20 of his points from the painted area, including 3-second chance buckets. It wasn’t just Campbell who had his way down low on Friday though, as the Trojans as a whole scored 42 of their 50 points in the paint. Anderson also rebounded well, grabbing 30 boards and and turning 6 offensive rebounds into 10 second chance points.
Sophomore Noah Perkins tied his career high, scoring 13 points against Akins, and playing a vital role in the victory. His 7 second-half points were a big reason why the Trojans were able to hold on and pull out the victory. Fellow sophomore Luke McReynolds didn’t find the bottom of the basket in 18 minutes of action, but dished out a team-leading 4 assists and grabbed 5 rebounds to go along with a pair of steals. He was also a +10 for the game, showing how important his contributions were even though he didn’t score.
Senior guard Jaxon Gill also had 9 points on 4-9 shooting, 3 assists, 2 steals, and a rebound against Akins. He played a good all-around game, and the Trojans are going to need him at his best as the season goes on. He was a member of the football team this fall, but a wrist injury kept him off the field for most of the season. Having him back at full strength is going to be a big deal for this Anderson team.
Despite a large discrepancy in fouls and free throws, the Trojans were able to win this game in large part due to their defense. They held Akins to a 35.4% shooting clip from the field and 17.6% from deep. Akins turned the ball over 14 times and active hands led to 7 steals for Anderson.
Still, Anderson had issues of their own that will need to be cleaned up if they want to beat either Westlake or Lake Travis this week. They need to cut down on the turnovers and be more efficient offensively as district play heats up. Overall though, the Akins game was a big confidence builder for Anderson ahead of a huge week. Stay tuned for game previews and as always, follow me on X @JSchocket for the latest Trojan Athletics news.
