A few weeks ago, the Tigers had back-to-back games against Northside and Callaway, and the results were mixed.
Troup was beaten by Northside, but it beat Callaway in a close game.
This weekend, Troup will play those same two teams, although the locations will be different.
Troup will visit Callaway today before hosting Northside on Saturday.
The girls’ teams from those schools will also play today and Saturday.
The Tigers are coming off an appearance in a tournament at Auburn High where they went 1-2 with a victory over Lee High of Montgomery before losing to Auburn High and Opelika High.
Troup is 4-3, and nearly everyone of those games has come right down to the wire, including the three tournament games.
“I think it helps,” Troup head coach Thermond Billingslea said of the close games. “It really helps if you can win one or two of them, and we’ve won one or two of them.”
The Tigers feature a roster thin on varsity experience.
Lakeithin Buckner is the only returning starter from last season’s team that finished second in its region.
Billingslea likes a lot of what he’s seen from his team, although there are a couple of areas he’s focused on in practice.
“I hope we can rebound the ball better, and take care of the ball,” Billingslea said. “That’s our main concern. We’ve had problems with both.”
In the first meeting against Callaway, Buckner scored 17 points, with seven of those points coming in the fourth quarter.
Brandon Bridges led Callaway with 12 points.
The Tigers led by seven points late before the Cavaliers made a run to get within a point, but they were unable to pull even or take the lead.
It was a tight, down-to-the-wire game, and Billingslea expects the same thing this time around.
“They’re extremely tough everywhere they go, but especially at home,” Billinglsea said.
Callaway brings a 1-3 record into the game, but two of those losses were against unbeaten LaGrange, and the other one came against Troup.
The Cavaliers had chances to win all three games they lost, but a few things didn’t go there way late, so here they are with a 1-3 record.
Callaway head coach Terry Hayes said it’s all about executing at the end of ballgames.
“We could be 4-0,” Hayes said. “We have to execute our offense, and we have to get stops.”
Callaway and Troup will both be back on the court Saturday.
Callaway’s teams will play Lanett (Ala.) for the first time this season, and Troup’s teams will have a rematch against Northside.
Northside won the girls’ and boys’ games earlier this season.
After this weekend, the teams from Callaway and Troup will be off until Jan. 4 when region play begins.
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