Tipton-Rosemark Academy defeats FACS for spot in championship game
For most of this season, a lot of people haven’t spoken much about Tipton-Rosemark Academy, which has been playing the underdog role since the start of the season. But, the Rebels have a veteran group that’s on a mission to…
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Continue ReadingFor most of this season, a lot of people haven’t spoken much about Tipton-Rosemark Academy, which has been playing the underdog role since the start of the season.
But, the Rebels have a veteran group that’s on a mission to win a state championship.
TRA’s road to a state championship started back in the summer, and just now, others are starting to see the team’s hard work pay off.
The Rebels, who were led by three of their six seniors plus a sophomore, defeated First Assembly Christian School by the final score of 67-53 to advance to Saturday night’s Division II-A West Region Championship game against Northpoint, which defeated Harding Academy in the earlier game on Friday.
South Alabama commit Andrew Anderson and Tysen Banks had 19 points apiece. Senior forward Kam Collier added 16 and sophomore forward Alex Anderson provided 13, three nights after scoring 25 points in a five-point win over Lausanne in the second round.
TRA started the pull away early in the fourth quarter, using a 12-0 run to take a 53-37 lead. Banks started the run with a score that ended the third quarter with the Rebels up 41-37. Alex scored the team’s next five points, then Collier went 3 for 4 from the free throw line.
TRA’s biggest lead was 16 points. The Crusaders cut their deficit to 10 off a score by sophomore guard Jelani Willis, but scores from Collier and two made foul shots from Andrew pushed the Rebels’ lead back up to 57-44.
TRA’s head coach Cedric Anderson, with sweat running down his forehead, was almost speechless after the game, especially after the Rebels’ defensive performance against senior combo guard Koby Jeffries, who finished with nine points.
“You can’t stop him. You got to try to contain him as much as you can,” Anderson said. “You have to limit his opportunities and force someone else to make a play. Then, our guys have to have the energy, 80-90 percent of the time, to play full playoff speed on defense and offense.
“You can get a lot of kids to play offense, but you can’t get them to play defense. We are defense first.”
The Rebels forced Jeffries into back-to-back turnovers in the fourth quarter, which turned into scores for Anderson’s team. Jeffries was able to break TRA’s zone defense in the first half as he was the perfect decoy for his teammates to get nice looks at the basket.
Both teams traded scores in the first half, with FACS striking first with a 7-0 run, but the Crusaders’ last lead came at 23-20 after a score from Jeffries.
Then, Collier scored the Rebels’ next seven points to put them up 27-25, and from there TRA would have control of the contest.
Willis led FACS with 17 points. He was the only player for the Crusaders to score in double figures.
3 takeaways
- TRA, as a team, shot better from the free throw line Friday night than it did against the Lynx Tuesday night, converting on 20 of 27 attempts. The Rebels went 28 for 43 from the charity stripe against Lausanne.
- TRA slowing down Jeffries was one of the difference makers in the game. The Rebels forced him to go left, an area Jeffries isn’t comfortable in going into.
- Willis, who’s just a sophomore, has a bright future at FACS. He will probably be the team’s best player for the next two years.