TRA advances to semifinals round with win over Harding Academy
Tipton-Rosemark Academy defeated Harding Academy, 69-47, in the second round of the Division II-A Boys West Region Tournament. The Rebels will play at No. 1 FACS in the semifinals round. Here are two takeaways from TRA’s win. Rebels’ press frustrated…
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Continue ReadingTipton-Rosemark Academy defeated Harding Academy, 69-47, in the second round of the Division II-A Boys West Region Tournament.
The Rebels will play at No. 1 FACS in the semifinals round.
Here are two takeaways from TRA’s win.
Rebels’ press frustrated the Lions
Head coach Cedric Anderson’s team loves to press. From the tip, TRA jumped into a full-court press. The Rebels’ press frustrated Harding Academy, and TRA’s defense forced the Lions into 27 turnovers and recorded 21 steals. Each Rebel that touched the floor Sunday evening made sure to stick a hand or a finger on the basketball each time Harding Academy was trying to get the basketball across half court.
TRA sent traps to junior point guard DJ Richmond and took the driving lane away. Richmond wasn’t able to have a positive spin on the game like he wanted, which hurt the Lions’ offense.
Richmond scored only six points on 2 of 11 shooting and turned the ball over 10 times.
Junior forward Jaxon Toney was the only player for Harding Academy to score in double figures. He led the Lions with 24 points and 13 rebounds.
TRA didn’t fold when its double-digit lead vanished
The Rebels led by 18 points early in the third quarter, thanks to an 18-0 run that started early in the second quarter. Then, junior guard Luke Campbell made back-to-back shots from 3 to help Harding Academy cut its deficit. Toney scored four straight points to cut the Lions’ deficit to 36-28. Harding Academy wouldn’t get any closer than nine points.
Thanks to the composure of senior wing Alex Anderson Alex Anderson 6'7" | SF Tipton-Rosemark Academy | 2021 TN and junior small forward Tyler Byrd, TRA didn’t fold and it went on to build a 63-44 lead late in the fourth quarter.
“For one, we did not get in rhythm until midway through the third quarter,” coach Anderson said. “The second thing is our kids were over anxious because we haven’t been in the gym, so we didn’t work out our fundamentals early.
“We did put our hands on kids. We over ran the ball; we weren’t in proper position. By midway through the third quarter, we started getting in our right spots and executed from that position.”
Byrd led the Rebels with 23 points. Anderson finished with 22.
The Lions are heading in the right direction under Eubanks
In year two of the Greg Eubanks era at Harding Academy, the Lions finished second in the DII-A West 6 District, grabbed a No. 2 seed in the DII-A West Region Tournament and hosted a region game.
Toney, Campbell and Richmond, a transfer from Memphis East, had to lead the way after the program graduated seven seniors last season.
All three will be back next season as seniors, which will help Harding Academy be in contention. The Lions getting the experience of hosting a region tournament game will be beneficial going into the 2021 season.
“That’s what we were really hoping for, just to get that experience,” Eubanks said as he was thinking about the idea of playing in the DII-A Boys State Tournament if his team was able to keep its postseason going. “It didn’t happen. It’s a huge summer for us. Everyone lost last summer. Hopefully, we can have a summer and get better skill-wise.”
Results from the other two second round matchups
No. 2 ECS defeated No. 3 Northpoint Christian, 45-27. The Eagles will play at No. 1 Lausanne, which defeated Fayette Academy, 57-40.