Trojans take on Enterprise in grudge match
Published 8:47 pm Thursday, January 26, 2012
Just because region play has ended for the regular season, don’t expect the Charles Henderson basketball squad to go on a vacation, especially with Enterprise coming to town Friday night.
The Trojans have a lot to play for in the game, not only is it their last regular season home game but they also have a chance to avenge a previous loss to Enterprise on the road earlier in the season, and have a three-game winning streak to keep alive.
But despite having a lot at stake, the Trojans are prepared to meet the challenge.
“We’re going in with a positive outlook,” head coach Carl Hollis said. “I hope we play well and play well enough to win. We’re not in the passenger seat this time we’re going to be driving and we’re going in to this game with the attitude that we can beat anyone we play.”
The Trojans have a lot of strength when playing in their home arena, and this season have compiled a 4-1 record at home as opposed to only 5-14 at other sites.
Despite the home success the Trojans have had, coach Hollis believes that the road games have been where his team has shown their real potential.
“I think we play better on the road than at home,” Hollis said. “We’ve played some good games on the road and come up short a few times but we’ve also played stronger teams. But a home court advantage does mean something and we like having a gym full of people cheering us on.”
With no home games left after the match up with Enterprise and area play over until the tournament starts on Feb. 7, the Trojans could simply go on autopilot for the rest of the season.
But instead they see games like their rematch with Enterprise as a way of getting stronger as a team and preparing for the postseason.
“The key is if you love basketball and play competitively you can use these games to get better,” Hollis said. “The other area teams have played you before and they know what to expect and you can bet they will be bringing their A game to the tournament. So you have to use these games to get better, being in some wins and go into the playoffs on a positive note.”
The Trojans will have many opportunities to build up that positive outlook for the postseason, starting with Enterprise, but despite the variety of teams still to come Hollis and his players are planning to just focus on doing their jobs.
“I ask them to play hard, play smart and control the court,” Hollis said. “If we play our best and don’t some up with a win then we can’t hang our heads about it, we’ve just got to play to the best of our ability. Enterprise is a well-coached team and has a lot of talented players so we’ve got to do our assignments and play right.”
The Trojans will tip-off at 4:30 p.m.