After starting out 0-2 in district with losses to Cedar Creek and McCallum, the Trojans were looking to turn over a new leaf in 2025 and bounce back after a tough start to district play. On the first day back to school, January 7th, Anderson went to Bastrop. Later in the week, they hosted Navarro on Friday, January 10th. The Trojans put on a strong showing in this stretch of games, winning both games by a combined 57 points, dominating Bastrop 62-33, and controlling the game in a 61-34 victory against Navarro.
Against a Bastrop team who was 1-2 in district play and looking to get to .500, Coach Swanson stressed the importance of jumping out to an early lead on the road, and Anderson did so, leading 12-5 after the first quarter. However, in the second quarter, Bastrop came out with a newfound intensity and scored four strong layups and a free throw while getting stops and creating turnovers on the defensive end to erase the Trojan lead and tie the game at 14-14. Jack Penders helped stop this momentum with a strong seal-off and post move in the paint to stimy the Bastrop run and give the Trojans the lead back. After trading visits to the free throw line and points in the paint, Anderson held a 20-17 lead with under two minutes left in the half and the ball at the baseline. As the Trojans were about to run an inbound play, an argument erupted between one of the referees and Keyshon Moore of Bastrop, causing Keyshon to be given two technical fouls, ejecting him from the game. Senior Bryant Gitcho went 3/4 from the line on his technical free throws, and the Trojans used the momentum to stretch their lead to 27-19 with under 20 seconds left in the half. An aggressive middle drive by Ty Donnelson drew the defense in and left Drew Donahue with a wide-open three from the top of the key, which he drained to give the Trojans a double-digit 30-19 lead at halftime.
In a turnover-filled first three minutes of the third quarter, neither team seemed to be able to hit a shot until a free throw and hard-earned layup by Bastrop cut the lead to eight. With over half of the third quarter gone, Anderson still had not scored, and their lead had been sliced to 30-24 until Josh Lieberman hit a corner three to spark the Trojan offense, which, thanks to a pair of layups by Ben Burris and two free throws by Jason Smith pushed the lead to 39-24 by the end of the third quarter. A steal by Luke McReynolds leading to an easy layup for Drew Donahue set the tone for the fourth quarter, beginning with a 7-0 Trojan run. Bastrop scored only 7 points in the fourth quarter, while Anderson torched the defeated Bears for 23 points to get to a final score of Anderson 62, Bastrop 33. Jack Penders led the team in scoring with 10 points, with three other Trojans having 8 points to round out an even scoring sheet (First-quarter statistics were unavailable on Hudl for this game).
A home game against a Navarro team that was 0-4 in district, with a loss to a Bastrop team that Anderson just beat by almost 30, and a 3-point overtime loss to Crockett a few days prior could have caused the Trojan team to be overconfident. It seemed Anderson had not taken Navvaro seriously as the Vikings quickly jumped out to a 5-2 lead. However, the Trojans quickly found their rhythm, closing the quarter on a 22-5 run, essentially ending the game. A second quarter where the Trojans only allowed 2 points and extended their lead to 38-11 put the nail in the coffin. The Trojans coasted to a comfortable 61-34 win to get to 2-2 during district play. Bryant Gitcho had a second good game in a row, leading all scorers with 11 points. Gitcho was supported by 10-point performances from Sol Mierzwa and Miles Rickards, who dominated in the paint.
The Trojans play tonight against the LASA Raptors and look to obtain a winning record in district play.
