In front of a raucous home crowd on Monday night, the varsity Trojans started off their season with a comeback win against their in-county rival, the Gretna Hawks by a score of 50-46.

The first quarter saw Tunstall give up a couple of big three-pointers early and fall behind. But the Trojans battled back over a two and a half minute stretch, cutting the Hawks lead to just one point. However, that didn’t last long as the Hawks hit a buzzer beating three pointer that increased their lead to four. That shot left the Trojans trailing 10-14 after the first.

The second quarter was relatively even-matched, with neither team gaining a clear edge. The Trojans matched the Hawks basket for basket down the stretch and they had cut the deficit in half, trailing 22-24 headed into halftime.

The third quarter was when tempers started to flare. The Trojans came out of the break with one goal: to win. Early in the quarter, sophomore Majare Vincent banked in three pointer that cut into the Hawks lead. That three pointer caused a chain reaction of sorts, as less than a minute later, Freddie Arthurs got a huge rebound and put it back up, giving the Trojans a one point advantage. On an inbounds play following an out of bounds call on the Trojans, junior Will Blackwell received the first technical foul of the game following some shoving from a Hawks defender and he had some choice words for the defender. The entirety of the third quarter led to the demise of the Hawks, as they went stone cold in terms of shooting. The Trojans were ahead 36-33 with one quarter remaining.

The fourth quarter opened with the Hawks going into double digit fouls and forcing the Trojans to the line on more than one occasion. Majare Vincent, Jaydon Unger, Lucas Hess, and Freddie Arthurs each hit clutch free throws in the final minutes for the Trojans, combining to score eight of the team’s 14 points for the quarter. In the final three minutes of the quarter, a total of three technical fouls were called. The two biggest calls went against the Hawks, as the calls sent the Trojans to the line. The first set of free throws was shot by Freddie Arthurs, who made one of two. The second set was shot by Jaydon Unger, who made both and gave the Trojans a three point lead. In a must foul situation following a missed shot, the Hawks fouled Majare Vincent and sent him to the line. The sophomore hit both attempts at the line, ultimately sealing the game with a final score of 50-46

“We came together, focused on winning, and we outplayed and outworked [the Hawks],” said junior Freddie Arthurs.

Leaders in points for the Trojans were Freddie Arthurs with 11 points, Lucas Hess with 8 points and Majare Vincent with 7.  

JV also defeated the Hawks, using a huge run where they outscored Gretna 38-13 over the course of the second and third quarters to get the best of their in-county rivals by a score of 52-40. They were led in scoring by sophomore Dylan Burnett with 15 points, freshman Nick Hammock with 9 points and D’Dric Rogers with 8 points.

The wins leave both teams with a 1-0 record to open the season.

Both JV and Varsity are in action at home again on Wednesday, Dec. 5 against the Dan River Wildcats. JV tips off at 5:30, varsity following after.