Trojans win 13th straight to advance to regional semifinals

Published 10:01 am Wednesday, February 15, 2023

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

The Charles Henderson Trojans (22-5) throttled the Headland Rams (20-13) by a score of 66-47 at home Tuesday night in the sub-regional round of the Class 5A Boys Basketball Tournament.

The win puts the No. 5-ranked Trojans back in the 5A regional semifinals for the second consecutive year under head coach Timothy Fayson, who took over the CHHS basketball program in 2021. It also marks the Trojans’ 13th straight win and 19th win in the last 20 games. CHHS is 19-1 since December and 13-0 since January.

CHHS jumped out to an early 12-5 lead in the first quarter, going on a 10-0 run midway through the period, and extended the lead to 42-23 at halftime. In the third quarter, Headland managed to cut the lead to less than 10 on three occasions but a 13-1 run to end the period ballooned the CHHS lead to 57-31 going into the fourth quarter.

Sign up for our daily email newsletter

Get the latest news sent to your inbox

Charles Henderson outscored Headland 18-16 in the fourth quarter and got a chance to play every player on the bench, in the process. In total, nine Trojans scored on the night as CHHS shot 38 percent from the field and knocked down 12 three-pointers as a team. Headland shot just 25 percent from the field.

CHHS won the rebound battle 44-33 and forced 17 Ram turnovers. Senior Austin Cross had a big night for Charles Henderson, knocking down six threes as he tallied 26 points, 10 rebounds, four steals and two assists. Jayden Spearman was the only other Trojan to score in double figures as he earned 10 points, four rebounds, four assists, one steal and one block.

Jywon Boyd scored eight points and had three steals on defense, while Zach Batie scored eight points, as well. Bray Jones had seven points, one block and four assists, while Tyler Carlton grabbed 11 rebounds and four steals in the win. Mario Davenport also grabbed five rebounds.

The Trojans will play Vigor in the Class 5A Regional Semifinals on Monday, Feb. 20, at 1:30 p.m. at Garrett Coliseum in Montgomery. The winner plays in the Regional Finals on Feb. 22 at 5:45 p.m. at Garrett Coliseum for a spot in the Class 5A Final Four.

The Pike County Bulldogs (8-13) saw year one under new head coach Janasky Felming come to a close with a 69-46 loss to 3A’s No. 4-ranked Houston Academy Raiders in the Class 3A Sub-Regional round of the state tournament in Dothan on Tuesday. Ian Foster led the Dawgs with 11 points, while Khalil Foster added 10 points in the loss.

The Zion Chapel Rebels’ (14-17) season also ended with a 66-50 loss to St. Luke’s Episcopal in Mobile in the Class 2A Sub-Regionals on Tuesday, as well. Jacob Chestnut led ZCHS with 19 points, while Slade Grantham and Mason Stuart earned 12 points each in the loss.