Can #1 Trinity Fend Off #4 Harding? Can #1 FACS Return to State?
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PICTURED: Zack Niven Zack Niven 6'7" | PF Trinity Christian Academy | 2026 State TN (Trinity Christian) Intrigue abounds in the West Region of DII-A. The two #1 seeds are Trinity Christian and FACS. Both #2 ECS and #2 USJ…
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Continue ReadingPICTURED: Zack Niven Zack Niven 6'7" | PF Trinity Christian Academy | 2026 State TN (Trinity Christian)
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.
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.
#1 Trinity Christian (20-6)
#4 Harding
Trinity Christian and Harding actually played once this year, in a Hall of Fame game.
“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.”
Harding boasts a little size, which could be tricky for Trintiy Christian to defend. Harding’s forwards include Chazaiah Curry Chazaiah Curry 6'5" | PF Harding Academy | 2025 State TN (6-foot-5) and Owen Layne (6-foot-3). Chaz is putting up over 17 ppg.
Trinity will run get toughness and defensive strength from Lekhy Thompkins (6-foot-3) and Zack Niven Zack Niven 6'7" | PF Trinity Christian Academy | 2026 State TN (6-foot-6). Thompkins is physically stronger of the two. He rebounds forcefully.
“He is a big, strong kid,” said Coach Williams. “A football player. He helps us defend against bigger opponents.”
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.
Leading Scorers
Trinity leans on two juniors to get baskets, Kaleb Williams Kaleb Williams 6'1" | PG Trinity Christian | 2025 State TN and Brayden Waller Brayden Waller 6'2" | SG Trinity Christian | 2025 TN .
“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.”
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.
“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.”
Secondly, TCA gets consistent scoring from wing guard Brayden Waller Brayden Waller 6'2" | SG Trinity Christian | 2025 TN . Both Brayden and Kaleb Williams Kaleb Williams 6'1" | PG Trinity Christian | 2025 State TN reached the 1,000-point plateau earlier this season…in the same game.
“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.
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.”
#2 ECS
#3 Jackson Christian (21-7)
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. Tyler Jones Tyler Jones 6'3" | CG Evangelical Christian (ECS) | 2025 State TN (ECS) directs like an orchestra conductor, dribbling with his left and pointing out instructions. Jones is mature beyond his basketball years. Mr. Basketball Finalist Ayden Shaw Ayden Shaw 6'2" | PG Jackson Christian | 2024 State TN and Birman Jenkins III Birman Jenkins III 6'6" | SG Jackson Christian | 2025 State TN drive Jackson Christian. Shaw puts up 22.4 ppg with 42% from three-point land. He owns over 1230 career points.
#1 FACS (17-2)
#4 Sacred Heart (13-11)
Sacred Heart features AJ Morman AJ Morman 5'10" | PG Sacred Heart Of Jesus | 2024 State TN , 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.
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: Kristopher Carroll Kristopher Carroll 6'4" | SG FACS | 2025 State TN , Jacob Walker Jacob Walker 5'10" | PG FACS | 2025 State TN , Kingston Goodwin Kingston Goodwin 6'4" | SF FACS | 2025 State TN . Kingston will not be able to play this week due to injury.
#2 USJ (21-5)
#3 Lausanne
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Jack Turman
Jack
Turman
5'7" | PG
Harding Academy | 2024
TN
– Harding Academy
Chazaiah Curry
Chazaiah
Curry
6'5" | PF
Harding Academy | 2025
State
TN
– Harding Academy
Owen Layne – Harding Academy
MJ Hayes
MJ
Hayes
6'4" | SG
FACS | 2026
State
TN
– FACS
Cello Jackson
Cello
Jackson
6'4" | PG
FACS | 2026
State
TN
– FACS
Kristopher Carroll
Kristopher
Carroll
6'4" | SG
FACS | 2025
State
TN
– FACS
Jacob Walker
Jacob
Walker
5'10" | PG
FACS | 2025
State
TN
– FACS
Tyler Jones
Tyler
Jones
6'3" | CG
Evangelical Christian (ECS) | 2025
State
TN
– ECS
Landon Royston
Landon
Royston
6'4" | PG
ECS3 | 2029
TN
– ECS
Carson Boyle
Carson
Boyle
6'3" | SG
Lausanne | 2024
State
TN
– Lausanne
Josh Taylor – Lausanne
Mike Wilson – ECS
Ryan Scott
Ryan
Scott
6'3" | SG
ECS | 2025
TN
– ECS
Kaleb Williams
Kaleb
Williams
6'1" | PG
Trinity Christian | 2025
State
TN
– Trinity Christian
Brayden Waller
Brayden
Waller
6'2" | SG
Trinity Christian | 2025
TN
– Trinity Christian
Zachary Niven – Trinity Christian
Lekhy Thompkins – Trinity Christian
Mills Terry
Mills
Terry
6'3" | SG
USJ | 2025
State
TN
– University School Jackson
Brady Smith – University School Jackson
AJ Morman
AJ
Morman
5'10" | PG
Sacred Heart Of Jesus | 2024
State
TN
– Sacred Heart of Jesus
Sam Keyl
Sam
Keyl
6'0" | PG
USJ | 2027
State
TN
– University School Jackson
Previous Results (2/10/24):
#4 Harding Academy defeated #5 Tipton-Rosemark, 49-43.
#3 Jackson Christian defeated Northpoint Christian, 47-32.
#4 Sacred Heart of Jesus defeated #5 St. George’s, 77-72
#3 Lausanne defeated #6 Fayette Academy, 71-33
Previous Results (2/9/24):
#6 Northpoint defeated #7 Natchez Trace, 65-35.
Northpoint Christian finishes their season 8-11.
Fayette Academy finishes their season 10-18.
Tipton-Rosemark finishes their season 7-16.