Can #1 Trinity Fend Off #4 Harding? Can #1 FACS Return to State?

<!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><em>PICTURED: [player_tooltip player_id='2043503' first='Zack' last='Niven'] (Trinity Christian)</em></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Intrigue abounds in the West Region of DII-A. The two #1 seeds are Trinity Christian and FACS. Both #2 ECS and #2 USJ also enjoyed byes up until now. Read the paths of the other four teams far below.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Can Trinity Christian prove their prowess and fend off Harding Academy? Both teams are nicknamed Lions. Alas, we must determine the king of the kings of the jungle Tuesday night.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">#1 Trinity Christian (20-6)<br>#4 Harding</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Trinity Christian and Harding actually played once this year, in a Hall of Fame game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"I think we lost by 5-6" recalled Trinity Christian Head Coach Dexter Williams via phone Monday, February 11th. "We picked that game up at the last minute. We have a 13-player roster and 11 of them played football. We were out of sync."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Harding boasts a little size, which could be tricky for Trintiy Christian to defend. Harding's forwards include <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1352796' first='Chazaiah' last='Curry']</strong> (6-foot-5) and <strong>Owen Layne</strong> (6-foot-3). Chaz is putting up over 17 ppg.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Trinity will run get toughness and defensive strength from <strong>Lekhy Thompkins</strong> (6-foot-3) and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='2043503' first='Zack' last='Niven']</strong> (6-foot-6). Thompkins is physically stronger of the two. He rebounds forcefully.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"He is a big, strong kid," said Coach Williams. "A football player. He helps us defend against bigger opponents."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Niven, who did not start against Fayette Academy February 2nd, is the better long-term basketball prospect of the two thanks to his height, shooting skill, and agility. Coach Williams likes his ability to shoot and score in a variety of ways.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>Leading Scorers</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Trinity leans on two juniors to get baskets, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1399745' first='Kaleb' last='Williams']</strong> and <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1399746' first='Brayden' last='Waller']</strong>.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:image {"id":2348169,"sizeSlug":"large","linkDestination":"media"} --> <figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><a href="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_7778-crop-946x622-1707765908.jpg"><img src="https://prephoops.com/wp-content/uploads/sites/2/2024/02/IMG_7778-crop-946x622-1707765908.jpg?w=800" alt="" class="wp-image-2348169" /></a><figcaption class="wp-element-caption">[player_tooltip player_id='1399745' first='Kaleb' last='Williams'] (Trinity Christian)</figcaption></figure> <!-- /wp:image --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Kaleb is having a great year," shared Coach Williams of his son and starting point guard. "He is averaging about 16-17 right now. He is having a great year."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p> A lean, 6-foot-2 guard, Kaleb plays best when he gets to the free throw line. Thin, Williams is unafraid of contact and makes defenses react. He scored 29 points against Hamilton Heights earlier this season and faced a strong Clarksville Academy team favorably too.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"We played Clarksville Academy back around Christmas, and Matt Hoppe had two really good guards on that team and Kaleb stacked up extremely well against them." </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Secondly, TCA gets consistent scoring from wing guard <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1399746' first='Brayden' last='Waller']</strong>. Both Brayden and [player_tooltip player_id='1399745' first='Kaleb' last='Williams'] reached the 1,000-point plateau earlier this season...in the same game.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>"Kaleb scored [his] 1000th in the first quarter and Brayden scored [his] 1000th in the second quarter." Both will be honored with a game ball from that night before this contest.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Asked how far TCA can go this postseason, Coach Williams said, "If we are playing well, and doing the things that we are good at, I have no doubt that we could make a pretty good run at this thing."</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">#2 ECS<br>#3 Jackson Christian (21-7)</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>A marquee matchup. ECS is fortunate to be hosting this game, because Jackson Christian's ambitions in and around the program are big this year. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1352799' first='Tyler' last='Jones']</strong> (ECS) directs like an orchestra conductor, dribbling with his left and pointing out instructions. Jones is mature beyond his basketball years. Mr. Basketball Finalist <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1555637' first='Ayden' last='Shaw'] </strong>and<strong> [player_tooltip player_id='1377904' first='Birman' last='Jenkins III']</strong> drive Jackson Christian. Shaw puts up 22.4 ppg with 42% from three-point land. He owns over 1230 career points.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:embed {"url":"https://twitter.com/SHJHSBball/status/1757185221131178110?s=20","type":"rich","providerNameSlug":"twitter","responsive":true} --> <figure class="wp-block-embed is-type-rich is-provider-twitter wp-block-embed-twitter"><div class="wp-block-embed__wrapper"> https://twitter.com/SHJHSBball/status/1757185221131178110?s=20 </div></figure> <!-- /wp:embed --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">#1 FACS (17-2)<br>#4 Sacred Heart (13-11)</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Sacred Heart features <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1352806' first='AJ' last='Morman']</strong>, a talented left-handed scorer and leader, but FACS walks in a whole boy scout troop of talent. Sacred Heart enters the game a significant underdog. </p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>FACS won the State Championship in 2022 with five seniors starting. The 2024 team is younger and less experienced than those guys were, but they are possibly more talented. Several of these guys dressed in that title game: <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1400891' first='Kristopher' last='Carroll']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1400889' first='Jacob' last='Walker']</strong>, <strong>[player_tooltip player_id='1400890' first='Kingston' last='Goodwin']</strong>. Kingston will not be able to play this week due to injury.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:heading {"level":3} --> <h3 class="wp-block-heading">#2 USJ (21-5)<br>#3 Lausanne</h3> <!-- /wp:heading --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>PLAYERS TO WATCH</strong></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>[player_tooltip player_id='1196285' first='Jack' last='Turman'] - Harding Academy<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1352796' first='Chazaiah' last='Curry'] - Harding Academy<br>Owen Layne - Harding Academy<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1549096' first='MJ' last='Hayes'] - FACS<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1549097' first='Cello' last='Jackson'] - FACS<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1400891' first='Kristopher' last='Carroll'] - FACS<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1400889' first='Jacob' last='Walker'] - FACS<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1352799' first='Tyler' last='Jones'] - ECS<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1547250' first='Landon' last='Royston'] - ECS<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2370920' first='Carson' last='Boyle'] - Lausanne<br>Josh Taylor - Lausanne<br>Mike Wilson - ECS<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2363258' first='Ryan' last='Scott'] - ECS<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1399745' first='Kaleb' last='Williams'] - Trinity Christian<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1399746' first='Brayden' last='Waller'] - Trinity Christian<br>Zachary Niven - Trinity Christian<br>Lekhy Thompkins - Trinity Christian<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1347318' first='Mills' last='Terry'] - University School Jackson<br>Brady Smith - University School Jackson<br>[player_tooltip player_id='1352806' first='AJ' last='Morman'] - Sacred Heart of Jesus<br>[player_tooltip player_id='2328760' first='Sam' last='Keyl'] - University School Jackson</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Previous Results (2/10/24):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#4 Harding Academy</strong> defeated #5 Tipton-Rosemark, 49-43.<br><strong>#3 Jackson Christian</strong> defeated Northpoint Christian, 47-32.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><br><strong>#4 Sacred Heart of Jesus </strong>defeated #5 St. George's, 77-72<br><strong>#3 Lausanne</strong> defeated #6 Fayette Academy, 71-33</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Previous Results (2/9/24):</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><strong>#6 Northpoint</strong> defeated #7 Natchez Trace, 65-35.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p>Northpoint Christian finishes their season 8-11.<br>Fayette Academy finishes their season 10-18.<br>Tipton-Rosemark finishes their season 7-16.</p> <!-- /wp:paragraph --> <!-- wp:paragraph --> <p><a href="https://prephoops.com/2024/02/west-region-tournament-preview-dii-a/">West Region Tournament Preview (DII-A) </a><br></p> <!-- /wp:paragraph -->