Don’t let a rough start to the 2011-2012 season fool you about the Charles Henderson High School basketball team, who’s win over Rehobeth in the area final Monday night advanced them to a sub-regional match at home on Friday against Wilcox.

The Trojans have been dominant in the tail end of the season, winning seven of their last eight games and taking first place in the area tournament.

Now the Trojans have their next challenge on the horizon, a home matchup against Wilcox for a spot in the region tournament and put them one step closer to the state playoffs.

“For us it gets tougher and tougher every game,” Trojans head coach Carl Hollis said. “If we can win the sub-regional we can go to the region and then state and not a lot of teams will make it that far. If we want to win we’re going to have to take it to the next level.”

The Trojans will be relying on the same strategy that’s gotten them this far, a strong defense and a focus on limited turnovers and rebounds, but will be working on an extra level of polish with the few days left before the next game.

“We’re working on the basics,” Hollis said. “We’re perfecting our offense and defense and getting stronger in the areas that we’re weak in and hopefully the puzzle will come together. We’ve got to take care of the basketball and area taught us what we need to do. We’ve got to go out and play as a unit and work together.”

Wilcox is a bit of a wild card for the Trojans, and that uncertainty about their opponent will require an extra bit of caution going into the sub-regional.

The Jaguars lost their last area tournament match to Selma 69-66, but brought in an undefeated area record in the regular season and a 13-10 record, making them on paper a team that could pose a threat to the Trojan’s playoff run.

Coach Hollis knows that every game is a challenge, and has been making sure his defense is up to par and healthy when game time comes.

“Defense is going to be a big thing,” he said. “We played on Monday night so we’ve been walking through some things to start the week. We didn’t want to come in after a tough game like we had and mess up anything.”

Since the Trojans are the area champions, they will get to be the host for their sub-regional game with Wilcox, giving them a home-field advantage, an advantage that coach Hollis knows can be a powerful thing.

“I’m proud of our guys and how they’ve played,” he said. “We’ve got to play better and be ready and we need a great turnout from our fans and classmates, it helps our team out a lot when the fans support them.”

The Trojans will tip-off at 6 p.m. on Friday, Feb. 17.