By Thomas Sellers Jr.
With 20.9 seconds remaining on the TRA Gymnasium scoreboard, Tipton-Rosemark Academy Head Coach Cedric Anderson calmly called timeout. His cool demeanor stood out among the 57-57 deadlock situation with the Jackson Christian School Eagles. The showdown between two of the best team in West Tennessee Region of Division II-A basketball was going to come down to the final play Jan. 3. Anderson had plenty of options in the huddle. The leader of the Rebels decided to place the ball into the hands of his sophomore son Alex Anderson. Once the TRA guards were able to drain the clock down to less than 10 seconds, Anderson popped out toward mid-court to retrieved the basketball. The sophomore guard/forward attacked his Eagle defender and avoided an approaching double team to get his shot off in the paint. The basketball bounced along the rim for seemingly all 10 seconds before falling through the net. As the basketball collapsed through the cotton, the buzzer sounded and Alex was chased by his older brother and teammate Andrew down the court in celebration of the 59-57 victory. “That was the second time,” Alex said. “It feels real good. When everybody is trusting me, I’ve got to make the play.” Alex and his Rebel teammates had to make several plays to erase a 33-16 third quarter deficit. “I don’t ever think we’re going to lose,” the youngest Anderson said. “It was defense. Everybody had to bring 110 percent and attack. We’ve got to play defense. It’s how we overcame lack of rebounding, missed shots and missed free throws.” TRA was behind in the rebound battle throughout the first half. The Rebels missed several shots all over the court falling behind 23-14 at the break. JCS came out of the locker room with an 8-0 run to make the tally 31-14. Andrew Anderson finally ended the TRA drought with a basket. After the Eagles reclaimed a 17-point advantage at 33-16, Alex Anderson sparked a TRA 14-5 run with a three-point play. JCS still maintain a double-figure lead at 40-30 heading into the fourth quarter. The eldest Anderson emphasized to his players not to be nervous but it was time to shut down the Eagles. “Tenacious defense,” he said. “We’ve been in that position before. These guys have been there before. They’ve played hard and they kept believing. As long as there is time on the clock, you’ve got an opportunity. One play at a time.” After JCS went ahead, the Rebels seized momentum of the game with full-court pressure defense. Andrew benefited from a pair of steals for a couple of layups. Later in the stretch, Alex made a bucket to cut the deficit to 5 points. Then TRA guard Tysen Banks drained a three-pointer making the tally 47-45 in favor of the Eagles. After another steal at mid-court, Andrew raced toward the basket for layup to deadlock the game at 47-47. After another Andrew bucket gave TRA the lead, Alex stepped behind the arch to hit a three-pointer making the score 52-47. The Rebel lead grew to 55-47 after an Alex basket. The Eagles didn’t quit in the final 2 minutes of the game going on a 10-2 run to tie the contest at 57-57. “They did a great job,” Coach Anderson said. “They’re a great team. A zone-defense team, well-coached, we had to do a great job of fighting. They kept fighting. It was down to the final play. And we made the final play. They made the plays all the way until the end and we made the final play.” With 20.9 seconds remaining, the Rebels set up a play to get the basketball to Alex. Once he received the rock, Alex made his move to the rim and to snatch victory from the hands of defeat for TRA.
“He’s not thinking about the situation,” Coach Anderson concluded. “He’s only thinking about making the next play. Some kids think about the situation and it gets to big for them. He’s not thinking about the situation. He’s thinking, ‘I’ve got to make the next play.’”
