Basketball seeks for a split against the Titans

Varsity Boys Basketball Preview

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Photo by: Midlo Ball

Varsity Basketball breaks out of their huddle after discussing their gameplan

Boys’ Varsity Basketball seeks their 1oth win of the season on the road against the Cosby Titans on Feb. 1. The Trojans are a game removed from finishing a sweep against the Clover Hill Cavaliers; winning 79-66 and dropping their record to 4-13. The Titans enter the contest having suffered their fifth loss of the season against the Manchester Lancers by a score of 54-45.

Over the course of their winning streak, the Trojans have been playing their best basketball offensively.  A large part of this rhythm offensively has to do with points in the paint, transition offense, and being able to consistently get to the free throw line. Because of this, Coach Giddings plans to implement this strategy against the Titans who are an elite defensive unit.

“This team hasn’t faced a defense that on the same level as the Titans since our home matchup against Manchester,” Coach Giddings said.  “They have a lot of switchable players on defense so it’s our job to generate easy looks and penetrate towards the rim like we’ve been doing in our winning streak.”

It will be the second time these two teams have matched up against each other this season. Midlothian suffered a narrow defeat against the Titans in December with a 56-52 loss at home. However, due to the adjustments that they’ve made offensively, coaches and players have the utmost belief going into this game that they match up well with this team.

“We’ve played great as a team all year and that really doesn’t come as much of a surprise to us. We know how much work my teammates and I have put in during the season and it’s led us this far this year,” Senior AJ Tankard said.

The game holds a serious amount of playoff implications for both of these dominion region teams. With a Trojans victory, Midlothian would be a game back of the Cosby for fourth place in the Dominion District.  On the other hand, with a Titans victory, Cosby would be a half a game back from the James River Rapids for 3rd place in the dominion standings.

“We know that the playoffs are right around the corner. With that being said, we are still taking one game at a time and going through the motions. There’s not a single game during the regular that’s easy so we are playing every game like it’s our last,” Coach Jarhon Giddings said.