3 takeaways from Tipton-Rosemark Academy’s win over Arlington
After Tipton-Rosemark Academy lost seven seniors last season from a team that finished as the Division II Class A state title runner-up, many were expecting the 2019-20 season to be a rebuilding year for the Rebels. But, head coach Cedric…
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Continue ReadingAfter Tipton-Rosemark Academy lost seven seniors last season from a team that finished as the Division II Class A state title runner-up, many were expecting the 2019-20 season to be a rebuilding year for the Rebels.
But, head coach Cedric Anderson had a different plan.
TRA, with only one starter back from last season, defeated a more talented Arlington team 64-57 at home Friday night. The Rebels are 2-0, while the Tigers currently sit at 0-2 under first-year head coach Maurice Miller.
As I have done all week, here are 3 takeaways from Tipton-Rosemark Academy’s win over Arlington:
Tipton-Rosemark Academy hasn’t lost a step at PG
Yes, losing Tysen Banks and Andrew Anderson from last season hurts, but head coach Cedric Anderson was able to add junior point guard Cam Donegan from Ridgeway High School. Before junior wing Alex Anderson got going, Donegan carried the offense in the first quarter, scoring seven of the team’s nine points. Donegan finished with 18 points and made 6 of 7 shots from the free throw line.
“Well, go back to when Cam was in middle school, he’s done that before,” Anderson said. “This is not his first time. He’s used to being in the bright lights. He’s used to making big plays on the big stage. He came out and he had some big shoes to fill in Andrew Anderson, but he’s running the point.
“He quarterbacked this team tonight. Think about the first quarter alone, he took over this game and re-established us and got our composure.”
It was the Alex Anderson show
The South Alabama commit scored 12 points in the first half, then exploded for 18 more in the second half. Anderson was able to get any shot off and took advantage of the small lineups Arlington had on the floor at times, due to foul trouble. The 6-foot-6 wing also added 12 rebounds and made 12 of 14 shots from the charity stripe. Anderson seems to be much better than what he was a season ago.
“Maturity”, the word Anderson used to describe his son’s performance. “We saw him grow up right in front of our eyes. I was hoping he would mature throughout this season, and I saw him keep his composure when things didn’t go his way early.
“I saw him keep his composure when they sent the double team. I saw him keep his composure when they did the denial in a box-and-one. He just kept fighting. He got knocked down, then he got back up. He made free throw after free throw. He made clutch bucket after clutch bucket. He looks forward to playing in the moment.”
The Rebels were the more physical team
The Tigers have size in the frontcourt with freshman forward Javar Daniel (6-8) and sophomore forward Dontae Stringer (6-7), but TRA seemed to want the basketball more. The Rebels were able to get a lot of 50-50 balls and get crucial rebounds down the stretch. As I mentioned earlier, Anderson had 12 by himself. That’s saying a lot about how bad he and his teammates wanted a statement win. Let’s not forget how well the reserves played. Senior guard Antonio Garrett added six points and senior guard Isiah Hatley pitched in five points.
Other notes
Arlington’s junior guard Madison Peaster played much better Friday night than he did Tuesday night against Whitehaven. Peaster finished with 12 points against TRA, and he took better care of the basketball. Sophomore guard Phil Dotson III led the team with 13 points, but the Tigers couldn’t finish this one off. One of Arlington’s issues was foul trouble. Peaster had three heading into the four quarter. Stringer had four, and senior Chris McKnight fouled out with 3:18 left in the game.
At that point, the Rebels were up 52-45 and increased their lead to 58-45 after Anderson scored six straight points.