Sachse senior Jordan Anderson-Urune was named the Most Valuable Player of the Knights of Columbus Tournament. Photo by Oladipo Awowale / C&S Media
By David Wolman
The Sachse boys basketball team made program history last week by winning a tournament for the first time.
After cruising to a 74-50 win over Dallas Hillcrest on Dec. 4 to begin the tournament at Dallas Jesuit High School, Sachse followed that up with two close victories – a 50-45 win over host Jesuit on Dec. 5, followed by a 43-41 win over state-ranked Grand Prairie, No. 15 in last week’s Texas Association of Basketball Coaches Class 6A state poll, in the championship game of the Knights of Columbus Tournament on Saturday.
“Being a part of school history by winning our program’s first basketball tournament is something these guys can always be proud of,” said head coach Micah Moore. “It should give our guys a strong belief to know that their hard work is paying off. Our program places a big emphasis on daily growth, so that will be our focus this week going into district play. Our confidence comes from our preparation, not necessarily our results.”
Senior Jordan Anderson-Urune was named the tournament’s most valuable player. He scored six points against Grand Prairie, 17 against Jesuit and 13 against Hillcrest. Matthew Hudgins, also a senior, was named to the all-tournament team. He netted 17 points against Hillcrest, nine against Jesuit and 11 against Grand Prairie.
“Jordan is a dog,” Moore said. “He played big minutes against Jesuit and Grand Prairie, which is incredibly difficult to do at the point guard position. Jordan led us in scoring against Jesuit, getting to the paint at will and hitting tough shots. He also did a great job of controlling pace, defending, and initiating offense in the championship game against Grand Prairie.”
What pleased Moore the most about his team’s performance at the Knights of Columbus Tournament was its defense.
“Coach Chris Hill, at Jesuit, is one of the best coaches in the state, and holding an elite offensive team like Jesuit to less than 50 points is quite the accomplishment,” Moore said. “Then to come back the next day and hold a highly ranked and undefeated Grand Prairie team to 41 was awesome to see. Our guys are buying into being elite on the defensive end, and it really showed in the semifinal and championship games against two very strong opponents.”
Earlier in the week, Sachse lost 59-55 to West Mesquite on Dec. 2.
The Mustangs were forced to play from behind after trailing 14-11 at the end of the first quarter. Although Sachse outscored West Mesquite 14-8 in the fourth quarter, an early hole proved too much for the Mustangs to overcome.
Hudgins poured in 23 points to pace Sachse, followed by 16 from Anderson-Urune. West Mesquite’s Braylon McGee finished with a game-high 24 points.
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