CHESTERFIELD, S.C. – The Anson varsity boys basketball team returned from the Christmas Classic tournament with a mixture of lessons learned and confidence built, finishing 4th out of eight teams in a three-day stretch that tested the young squad.
After entering the tournament on an eight-game win streak, Anson’s momentum hit a bump with two consecutive losses, but the team and coaching staff are viewing the experience as a step in the right direction.
“We finished 4th out of 8 teams, going 1-2 in the Christmas Classic,” head coach Matt McLeod said. “The biggest takeaway from the tournament was that we’re still a work in progress. We’re a fairly new team that hasn’t been through the fire to build all the habits we need yet.”
Anson opened the tournament with a win over Chesterfield, 54-42, highlighted by a defense that the team considered its strongest of the season. “From stretches during the Chesterfield game, we played our best defense of the season,” McLeod said. “We felt really connected defensively that night.”
The second and third games proved more challenging. Anson fell to Richmond Senior 84-42, and then to Central, 70-54. Both opponents tested the team in different ways.
“Richmond Senior and Central are two of the best teams we’ve played so far,” McLeod said. “Richmond’s physical strength and relentlessness wore us down, and Central is full of talented guards and wings, they were really tough to defend with our big lineup.”
Despite the losses, the coach sees the tournament as an invaluable learning experience. “We never want to lose or get used to losing, but the challenges in this tournament will help us tremendously,” McLeod said. “Richmond Senior gave us a marker, a standard for the intensity and work we have to bring. We can now ask, ‘Will this work against Richmond?’ instead of some imaginary opponent when challenging our players. We’ll be better both in the short term and down the road because of these games.”
Looking ahead, Anson hopes to build on the lessons from the tournament and translate the experience into stronger play during the remainder of the season. With a team still adjusting to new roles and developing chemistry, every game remains an opportunity to grow.
“The tournament reminded us that we’re a work in progress, and every game is a chance to improve,” McLeod said. “We’ve seen what top-level competition looks like, and now we know what we need to focus on moving forward.”
While the final two games didn’t go in their favor, Anson left the Christmas Classic with a clearer sense of their strengths and areas for improvement. The team’s resilience, particularly on defense, will serve as a foundation as they prepare for conference play and the challenges ahead.