Hays (7-8) came out flat in a 64-56 home loss Monday against the Anderson Trojans (4-10) in a tough non-district affair.
“They are a well coached basketball team,” Hays head coach Matthew Sandoval said. “They’ve been playing tough opponents all year and you know, I think it showed tonight.”
The Rebel offense struggled early in the first half, as it was held to only seven points up until halfway through the second quarter. Senior shooting guard Dre Green kept Hays in the game in the first half with a couple of three pointers, which cut Anderson’s lead to 27-22 by halftime.
“We didn’t play well from the start,” Sandoval said. “And then we played in spurts, but we never got in a rhythm really.”
NEXT UP: Hays’ next game will be on the road Friday 8 p.m. against Lanier.
Hays had trouble stopping the penetrating play of Anderson’s backcourt throughout the second half of the game, even as the Rebels were attempting to make a comeback. The Trojans were able to hold a steady ten point lead up until the end of the game due to a lack of defensive stops from the Rebels.
“We couldn’t get stops when we needed them, and kind of the well went dry towards the end there,” Sandoval said. “We played until the end, but not much rhythm tonight. And you know, take nothing away from Anderson, they did a good job, but we can play better and we need to play better.”
Green led Hays in scoring for the game with 21 points, while also adding three steals and two rebounds. Other contributors were junior forward Noah Fultz and sophomore guard Luke Watson.
Watson provided a boost off the bench with nine points and three rebounds, while Fultz scored eight points and pulled down three rebounds.
The Trojans’ win was led by senior point guard Jonah Yanke and senior small forward Eric Conner. Yanke scored 18 points on the night, while Conner led Anderson with 19 points, including two highlight-reel dunks on fast breaks.
“I think mainly this game will help us get ready for district,” said Sandoval. “We just came out sloppy early for whatever reason. I mean it was nothing new. It was a tough game all around, like I said take nothing away from Anderson, they did a good job.”
