Anderson makes the playoffs

By Danny Davis
February 15, after watching classmates make the playoffs in football and girls basketball, the Anderson boys basketball players made sure to secure their moment in the spotlight.

John Gramlich hit four three-pointers and Javoris Stanton scored eight points off the bench to lift Anderson to a 53-49 victory over Del Valle on Tuesday, clinching Anderson's first trip to the Class 5A playoffs.  This school year has also seen the Trojans make their Class 5A postseason debuts in football and girls basketball. Anderson became a Class 5A school in 2004.

Each team scored only 17 points in the first half but Anderson built a six-point lead in the third quarter behind Stanton, who was put on the floor to give the Trojans more offense. The senior scored seven points in the third quarter.  As a team, Anderson recovered from an abysmal first half and scored 17 points in the third quarter. Gramlich gave Anderson a 34-28 lead when he hit an off-balance three-pointer, off an inbound pass at the buzzer.  "The first half, we had a lot of turnovers (10) and that took away some scoring opportunities," said Anderson coach Leal Anderson . Stanton "really sparked us in the third quarter ."

Del Valle, which could have forced a play-in game with Anderson for District 15-5A's final playoff spot with a victory, kept the game close. A three-pointer from Karim York narrowed the Trojans' lead to 51-49 with 11.5 seconds remaining.  After a Del Valle timeout, Gramlich was fouled and hit the first of two free throws to extend Anderson's lead . He missed the second free throw but was able to track down the offensive rebound and get the ball to I.J. Poole, who ran the clock down to 3.9 seconds before he was fouled. Poole hit one of two free throws to secure the victory.

"He finished with 19 points and Hayden Graham added 10 for Anderson. The Trojans will play Pflugerville, a former district rival, in next week's bidistrict playoffs.


AMERICAN-STATESMAN