Lee Trawick
Reporter2@riverbendnews.org
The Hamilton County High School varsity boys and girls basketball teams hosted the Lanier County Bulldogs on Thursday, Dec. 8. The Lady Trojans claimed the court first, looking for their first win of the season. Both teams met earlier in the season, where the Lady Bulldogs were able to edge the Lady Trojans out by a final score of 35-34. Although the Hamilton girls have been unable to come away with a win over their previous three games, they shown improvement with each outing.
Thursday night, the Lady Trojans were led in points and steals by freshman Tramiel Jackson. However, she also simply out hustled everyone on the court. On the defensive side the ball, she made her opponents work for every possession. Then, on the offensive side, she wore down defenders by out hustling them until their fatigue began to show. When their defense began to crack and made mistakes, Jackson an the Lady Trojans were able to pull away late.
As the game began, the Lady Trojans ran out to 5-0 lead before the Lady Bulldogs got on the scoreboard. Then, as the first quarter came to a close, the Hamilton girls led 7-5. By halftime, they were ahead 14-7. They continued their lead in the second half. However, in the fourth quarter, the Lady Bulldogs were able to close the gap, bringing the game within two points. The Lady Trojans did not back down, though. With the help of Jackson, the Hamilton girls managed to close the door on the Lady Bulldogs, 31-23, giving them their first win of the season.
The Trojan boys were up next, as they were coming off their first win of the season on Tuesday, Dec. 6, against Highland Christian Academy. As the game got underway, the Trojans battled to keep pace and mange the height difference between the two teams. The Bulldogs had two players in their starting lineup over 6'5”, with another standing at 6'3”. However, Micheal Harper and Erik Merine dominated the boards for the Trojans by being more aggressive. Unfortunately, the Trojans' efforts still had them trailing, 12-10.
Then, at the start of the second quarter, freshman Jaworski Williams entered the game to give their starter a breather. It did not take him long for Williams to make his impact on the game. After being left alone for only a split second, Williams found his shot and hit a three pointer to give the Trojans a 13-12 lead. From that point forward, the two teams would battle back and forth, only to see the Bulldogs carry a two point lead at halftime, 21-19. Throughout the third quarter, the Trojans' offense leaned on Williams, who hit back-to-back three pointers to give them a five point lead. Again, however, as time expired in the third quarter, the Bulldogs threw a shot from half court, reclaiming the lead, 34-32.
Williams continued to stay hot in the fourth quarter, and willed his team back into the game. The Trojans were able to regain the lead midway through the fourth quarter, and refused to give it back to the Bulldogs. Unfortunately, with just under a minute to go and with the Trojans leading by only one point, the Bulldogs refused to give up. Their offense began pressuring the Trojans' defense in desperation. This finally paid off for them, as they took the lead, 44-43, with 20 seconds remaining.
As the clock wound down, the Trojans crossed half court, and Williams came around the Bulldogs' defenders to the top of the key, where his teammates managed to get him the ball. Despite an intentional foul in an effort to prevent Williams from making his shot, he was still able to land a three-pointer, as well as a foul shot, to give the Trojans the win 47-44. With the win over the Bulldogs, the Trojans improve their record to 2-2 on the season.