Current Record:  11-7

Talent wins games, but teamwork and intelligence wins championships. - Michael Jordan

Alexandria Senior High School (ASH) Varsity Basketball Team. A progressive varsity prep hoops program in the city of Alexandria.  Head Basketball Coach: Alan Tinsley Assistant Coach:  Eddie Neal

Coach Tinsley in his first year at ASH is excited about the 2009-10 Trojans basketball team.  A good group of athletes with youth and experience make up the team with great potential.  Come support your ASH team.

"During the season, your team should be led with exuberance and excitement. You should live the journey. You should live it right. You should live it together. You should live it shared. You should try to make one another better. You should get on one another if somebody’s not doing their part. You should hug one another when they are. You should be disappointed in a loss and exhilarated in a win. It’s all about the journey.

Hours of Operation   7:30 AM - 2:30 PM
School Colors   Purple and Gold
School Mascot   Trojans
School Uniform (shirt) Colors   White and Purple
Pants   Navy or Khaki

Get your ASH Hoops apparel right here!  Click on the menu item "Sportswear"to order your favorite apparel to support the ASH Hoops program.

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The ASH Trojans suffered their first back-to-back losses of the season to the hands of the Pineville Rebels.  The Trojans defeated the Rebels in their first meeting of the year at the Peabody tournament with a score of 64-60.  But after leading at the half 37-31, the Trojans shooting went cold in the second half only scoring 21 points and were defeated 64-58.

Doc Welch and Tay Tay Gill were hot in the first half making shots from the 3-point line to the lane. But in the second half shots just would not fall. This was similar to Tioga games over the weekend as the Trojans fell to Tioga on cold second half shooting.

The Trojans will take a Christmas break and will back in action at Northwestern State University on January 2, 2010. ASH Hoops finishes the break at 11-7.

Crosstown 3-A Bolton Bears were no contest for the ASH Trojans as the route began on the tip-off and ended at the buzzer.  Leading at the half 49-19, the lead grew to 48 points the largest margin of victory in several years for the Trojans against any team.(CORRECTION: ASH defeated Menard 79-31 winning by 48 points in December 11, 2007)

The starters were able to rest up for the Tioga tournament starting Thursday as they saw little playing time in the contest.

ASH - 80   Bolton - 32

Chris Dykes-6
Tay Tay Gill-12
Dylan Brewer-9
Joey Lacour-8
Doc Welch-3
Tyrone Harden-4
Dezmond Beverly-10 (1 dunk)
Twin Pinkston-6
Jamar O'Connor-9
Shaan Washington-13

In an abrupt schedule change, apparently the annual Peabody Holiday Classic which usually featured teams from Mississippi, Alabama, and Texas has been cancelled.

ASH has now entered the Tioga tournament this weekend.  A bracket has been attached in handouts.

Wossman came to town and literally shot the lights out at the ASH Gymnasium Tuesday night.  Leading right before the half with a score 42-16 with Wossman seemingly making every shot they threw up, the lights went out and temporarily suspended the game.  The lights eventually came back on and ASH went into the locker room down 45-16.

The Trojans came out in the 2nd half and outscored the 2009 3-A quarterfinalists 36-23.  But it only cut the deficit to 16 points handing the Trojans their 5th loss.  ASH will be off for the rest of the week and will return to action next Tuesday hosting hometown Bolton Bears.

WOSSMAN-68    ASH-52

Doc Welch-26 pts
Taytay Gill-7 pts
Shaan Washington-4 pts
Chris Dykes-3 pts
Dylan Brewer-2 pts
Joey Lacour-2 pts
Dezmond Beverly-2 pts
Keondre Pinkston-2 pts
Demarcus Berry-2 pts

ASH gets 2 wins today to go 3 and 1 for the weekend and finishes in 5th 4th place out of the 12 team tournament.  ASH scored 152 points today and held their opponents to 96 points winning by a combined 56 points.

In game 1 against Kaplan, Doc Welch paced the win scoring 28 and freshman Taytay Gill got 19 points.

In game 2 against Epispocal of Acadiana, sophomore Dylan Brewer lit it up scoring a career high 24 points to lead the Trojan attack winning by 34 points. Taytay Gill was the only other Trojan scoring in double digits with 10 as first year Coach Alan Tinsley saw 12 Trojans score in the game.  ASH led at the half 38-16.  Sophomore newcomers Jamar O'Connor and Will Taylor saw action for the first time today with Will Taylor scoring 2 points.

ASH-74    Kaplan-52 

Doc Welch-28 pts
Taytay Gill-19 pts
Chris Dykes-8 pts
Shaan Washington-7 pts
Dezmond Beverly-4 pts
Damarcus Berry-4 pts
Joey Lacour-2 pts
Dylan Brewer-2 pts

ASH-78   Epispocal of Acadiana-44

Dylan Brewer-24 pts
Doc Welch-6 pts
Tayty Gill-10 pts
Twin Pinkston-7 pts
Shaan Washington-4 pts
Dezmond Beverly-6 pts
Chris Dykes-6 pts
Deshaun Obey-4 pts
Joey Lacour-2 pts
Imoan Claiborne-2 pts
Tyrone Harden-5 pts
Will Taylor-2 pts

Nothing seemed to go right for the Trojans tonight as the Reserve Christian converted Riverside hoops team dominated the Trojans.  With no help from the officiating, nothing could click as the Trojans lost 69-38 and left playing for 5th place in the consolation bracket.

Class C Reserve Christian had been a "recruited" Class C powerhouse for the past several years breezing through the Top 28 winning the 2009 championship by 29 points.

Reserve Christian State Championships - Margin of Victory

2009 Class C - 29 points
2008 Class C - 44 points
2007 Class C - 2 points
2006 Class C - 40 points
2005 Class B - 16 points
2004 Class B - Disqualified? (Likely ineligible player or recruiting violation)
2003 Class B - 5 points

Immediately after the 2009 basketball season ended, it was announced by the church that the Reserve Christian School was being closed.  That left all of the national basketball prospects and coaches without a home.  Riverside Academy, a Class 2A school hired the Reserve Christian coach as Head Basketball coach and athletic director and subsequently brought 4 of the 2009 starters with him to Riverside.  Most of these players are in the national ranking with one of the most recent graduates "Tweety" Carter playing at Baylor University.  Reserve Christian for the past few years has been ranked the #1 program in the state of Louisiana among all classes.

RIVERSIDE-69   ASH-38

Doc Welch-17 pts (4-3's)
Taytay Gill-10 pts
Chris Dykes-4 pts
Shaan Washington-3 pts
Deshaun Obey-3 pts
Dezmond Beverly-1 pt

ASH Trojans continues their winning with a decisive victory over Class 4A Sam Houston of Lake Charles.  ASH started out strong and built a sizeable lead of 47-10 then started emptying the bench.

ASH will face Riverside tomorrow at 6:00 PM

ASH-70     Sam Houston-36

Doc Welch-18 pts
Taytay Gill-15 pts
Shaan Washington-8 pts
Dylan Brewer-8 pts
Tyrone "Jr" Harden-6 pts
Dashaun Obey-4 pts
Dezmond Beverly-4 pts
Chris Dykes-4 pts
Imoan Claiborne-3 pts

ASH Hoops would like to show their appreciation to Tom Sanders and Scott Sanders for their help in refurbishing the ASH Locker room.  The Sanders did the majority of the painting of the lockers and the locker room.

Thanks for your support of ASH Athletics!

ASH Hoops treated the fans with 3 home opening wins tonight.  The freshman team won by 16, the jr. varsity by 20, and the varsity defeated the Opelousas Tigers by 24, 84-60.

ASH in a reportedly rebuilding year has freshmen stepping up and playing varsity level basketball beyond their years.  Senior leading scorer Hakeem "Doc" Welch has support despite losing 4 starting teammates from the 2008 squad.  Christavius "Tay Tay" Gill, Shaan Washington, and Tyrone Harden have stepped in and sometimes playing like seasoned veterans. Dezmond Beverly and Imoan Claiborne have swapped the pigskin for a roundball and contributed significantly to the balanced attack of the Trojans. Keondre Pinkston, Joey Lacour, Chris Dykes, Deshaun Obey, and Dylan Brewer have all contributed in all aspects of the game.

ASH will play Wednesday in the Teurlings Catholic Tournament against Sam Houston and will be defending their crown won in 2008.

STATISTICS:

Doc Welch-29 pts
Taytay Gill-13 pts
Tyrone Harden-12 pts
Shaan Washington-10 pts
Joey Lacour-8 pts
Keondre "Twin" Pinkston-4 pts
Dezmond Beverly-2 pts
Imoan Claiborne-2 pts
Deshaun Obey-2 pts
Chris Dykes-1 pt

ASH Hoops 2009 has it's home opener tonight against a good Opelousas team.  There will be boys only tonight with a freshman game at 5:00, junior varsity at 6:00, and varsity at 7:15 PM.

ASH played Opelousas in the Peabody tournament a couple of weeks ago and beat them by 2 points.

Be sure to ask to purchase your Season Pass tonight and it will provide admission to all home games, boys and girls with a savings of $30.  Season Pass-$30.

ASH will again for the 2nd consecutive year participate in the Teurlings Catholic tournament in Lafayette.  ASH won the tournament in 2008 defeating Westgate in the finals. ASH opens the tournament tomorrow at 4:45 against Sam Houston.  Other teams playing are Teurlings, ESA, Menard, Kaplan, Opelousas Catholic, Westgate, Grant, Marksville, West St. Mary, and Riverside. ASH could be poised to defend the tournament championship in the 12-team competitive bracket. The tournament will run from Wednesday to Saturday.

The ASH Trojans faced OP Walker today after going to the losers bracket from a Peabody loss yesterday.  ASH defeated OP Walker in 2008 while eventually winning the Opelousas tournament.  The 2009 Trojans repeated defeating OP Walker by 11, 61-50, getting a little revenge from the quarterfinals defeat last season. 

The Trojans had one game to rest then had to again face Westgate who was making their way back through the losers bracket.  The Trojans led at the half by 1, 27-26, but lost at the buzzer 56-55.  The Trojans simply ran out of energy with a win requiring to turn around and play again in the semi-finals.  The Trojans went 2-2 in the tournament defeating Westgate and OP Walker and losing to Peabody and Westgate.

ASH 61    OP Walker 50

Doc Welch-23 pts

Tay Tay Gill-14 pts

Shaan Washington-11 pts

Dez Beverly-5 pts

Twin Pinkston-4 pts

Chris Dykes- 4 pts

ASH-55     Westgate-56

Doc Welch-8 pts

Dez Beverly-12 pts

Shaan Washington-4 pts

Tay Tay Gill-7 pts

Twin Pinkston-2 pts

Dylan Brewer-8 pts

Chris Dykes-6 pts

George Cearo-7 pts

The grueling of intense basketball with the 5th game in 4 days took it's toll on the Trojans as none of their shots would fall showing a true sign of tired legs.

Facing district rival Peabody the Trojans couldn't get anything to fall scoring only 29 points against Peabody's 66.  ASH will play again tomorrow at 2:00 likely facing OP Walker in the true double elimination loser's bracket.

Doc Welch-8 pts
Dez Beverly-5 pts
George Cearo-5 pts
Dylan Brewer-5 pts
Tay Tay Gill-4 pts
Twin Pinkston-2 pts

The ASH Trojans continues to wow fans with their amazing speed and basketball savvy.  Tay Tay (5'6") Gill jumped center at the beginning of the game against a 6'6" Westgate player...and won the tip by running to the Westgate teammate that was tipped to and retrieved the ball for a quick 2-points to open the game.  By the half ASH was up 44-33. 

Doc Welch was the scoring leader in the first half with 22 points but got called for some questionable fouls and had 4 by half.  Tay Tay Gill (13 pts) and Twin Pinkston (9 pts) led the Trojans in the 2nd half to make it a blow-out of the Class 5-A powerhouse Westgate by a final score of 92-70.

ASH will face the winner of the OP Walker and Peabody game which incidentally Peabody won by 3-4 points.

Doc Welch-28 pts, (22 at the half)

Tay Tay Gill-13 pts. (4 at the half)

Twin Keondre Pinkston-9 pts

Shaan Washington-6 pts

Dezmond Beverly-6 pts

Jr. Tyrone Harding-6 pts.

Chris Dykes-5 pts.

Dylan Brewer-5 pts

George Cearo-4 pts

Luke Turner-3 pts

Joey Lacour-3 pts

The ASH Trojans went 3-0 in the Peabody Fall Classic defeating cross-river rival Pineville Rebels tonight 64-60.

ASH again found itself trailing most of the contest until the end when the Rebels were penalized with technical fouls and Senior Doc Welch sunk 4 technical free-throws to clinch the contest.  ASH is now 3-1 on the young season.  They will travel to Opelousas tomorrow to face Westgate in the opening round of the Opelousas tournament.

The ASH Trojans did it again.  Trailing after all 3 periods, the ASH Trojans put the pressure on by going up by 2 points when Tay Tay Gill shot a 3-pointer with a minute left and Doc Welch shot a 3-pointer with 18 seconds to take the lead.  ASH trailed the entire game except when it mattered the most, at the end.

ASH Hoops goes to 2-1 on the season.

In a meeting with the former ASH Coach Alex Perkins, the new ASH Trojans had little trouble taking control of the contest routing the Woodlawn team from Shreveport by 18 points, 75-57.

Up by 20 at the half 62-42, the intense full-court press of the Trojans produced a favorable turnover ratio that were many times converted to lay-ups. Senior Doc Welch got hot during the 3rd period as he sunk 3-3's  and a layp within a 2 minute period.  Freshman Tay Tay Gill was the steals leader often converting to 2-points on each steal.  Tay Tay Gill also had a hot streak of 3's during the 3rd period when the Trojans went up by 27 points. Dezmond Beverly and Luke Turner added needed height and muscle on the floor with Beverly's rebounding and scoring contributing to the large scoring margin.

Coach Tinsley emptied the bench in the 4th as all the Trojans got good playing time.  ASH will face Opelousas today and Pineville tonight to finish off the Peabody Classic.

Thanks to loyal support of some ASH Hoops fans, the 2009-10 ASH Trojans will be enjoying a new "college-style" newly remodeled locker room.

Thanks to Mr. Keith Breazeale, Mr. Ted Finn, Mr. Robby Rogenmoser with help from Coaches Eddie Neal and Alan Tinsley, a new wall, lockers, carpeting, and other trim work have been built for the ASH Hoops Varsity Boys Basketball program.  With many of the ASH athletic programs getting facelifts as of recent, the ASH Hoops program was sort of on the left-out list.  These gentlemen have long been ASH supporters and have been instrumental in recent capital improvements in the ASH Baseball program, ASH Football, and now ASH Hoops.

Under new administration in 2008, Principal Billy Albritton was instrumental in getting a brand new hardwood floor resurfacing along with freshly painted bleachers, rails, and walls for the ASH Gymnasium.  Now with the new locker room, ASH Trojan Pride is ever present in what is becoming a powerhouse basketball program known throughout the state.  First year Coach Alan Tinsley is building on the program that has been established and is determined to keep it on a level of respect that the school, students, faculty, and community can continue to take pride in.

Coach Tinsley and the school administration are extremely grateful to these community leaders who have given their resources to advance these young men's education and athletic experiences while attending Alexandria Senior High School.

ASH will open the Peabody Fall Classic pitted against Woodlawn of Shreveport, LA coached by former ASH coach Alex Perkins.

ASH played a hard fought contest against Rayville Tuesday night and will be joined with some football players for the tournament this weekend.  Coach Tinsley will look forward to integrating new players with the program and will likely take a few games to get everyone on the same page.

ASH Hoops has a very busy weekend playing 1 game Friday and 2 games Saturday at the Peabody Classic.  They will play 1 game Sunday and 1 game Monday with 2 possible games Tuesday in the Opelousas tournament. 

The 2008 ASH Trojans faced the same tough schedule. In 2008 ASH went 2-1 in the Peabody classic defeating Opelousas and Pineville and losing to Natchitoches Central.  Then went to Opelousas and defeated Westgate (Top 28-2008), OP Walker (Top 28-2009), and Opelousas to win the Opelousas Barq's Blow-out Championship.  ASH defeated Opelousas twice within 3 days.  Then to put a cap on the tournaments, the night after winning the Opelousas tourney went to Richwood on Wednesday night and defeated Jonesboro-Hodge in triple-header.

ASH opened the 2009-10 with a loss to Rayville tonight by 71-67.  In a hard fought contest, the Trojans trailed at the half by 10, 41-31.  In the second half, unforced turnovers and errors caused the lead to grow.  However, the fighting Trojans battled back and only lost by 4.

Freshmen support was good as freshman Tay Tay Gill led scoring with 22 points.  Senior Doc Welch scored 17 and freshman Shaun Washington scored 9.

ASH will play this weekend in the Peabody tournament and begin the Opelousas tournament on Sunday in a very busy weekend of basketball.

The ASH fans (along with Peabody & Bolton) got a glimpse of what new Head Coach Alan Tinsley's style of play will be for the 2009-10 season.

The very young and inexperienced ASH Trojans played Bolton in the first jamboree game and easily controlled the game from the buzzer with intensive defense via a full-court press.  The undersized Trojans overpowered the Bolton Bears forcing turnover after turnover.  The larger Bears could not handle the defensive pressure. Most of the 20 points margin of victory came from Trojan layups.

In Game 2, the Trojans squared off against the perinneal powerhouse Peabody Warhorses, who is returning just about every player from the 2008 squad.  The pesky defense of the Trojans worried the Warhorses initially as many turnovers occurred.  However, the Trojans failed to convert those turnovers into points in the 1st period but kept the game close.  The 2nd period was just as intensive but the turnover margin increased to the Warhorses favor as the Trojans began to turn the ball over.

Warhorses win the jamboree game by a margin of around 12 points.

ASSESSMENT:

ASH Hoops are still awaiting for some football players to join the line-up but not until the ASH football team finishes its' business for 2009. Though young, inexperienced, and undersized, Coach Tinsley has a very aggressive and athletic team to build on.  If the offense can learn to syncronize with the defense and be able to convert turnovers to points and hold offensive turnovers down, then the Trojans will compete with a lot of teams.

Hard work, smarts and willpower will win a lot of games for the 2009-10 season.

ASH will travel to Rayville Tuesday night for the opening game and play in the Peabody tournament on the weekend.

The 2009-10 basketball season opens tonight when the ASH Trojans travel to Peabody to participate in the Jamboree.  ASH is slated to play Bolton at 6:30 and Peabody at 7:30.

Jamboree games are abbreviated games of only 2 quarters and do not count on the official game record.  ASH will travel to Rayville next week for the opening season game.

COME SUPPORT YOUR TROJANS!

The 2009-10 ASH Hoops Boys' schedule has been posted.  A "handout" has also been uploaded.

Be certain you click on the COMBINED tab, then FULL SCHEDULE and choose PRINTABLE SCHEDULE to print out your schedule.This will print out the regular pre-district games, district games, and play-off games schedules.

Please note that the girls' scheduled games, JV, and freshmen is on the "Handout" *.pdf schedule.

After several revisions, the final ASH Hoops schedule for 2009-10 will soon be released per first year Head Coach Alan Tinsley.

The new version of the ASH basketball team was on display last Wednesday night as they hosted 2009 Class 5-A runnerup West Monroe and Caldwell in a scrimmage exhibition.  Of the 21 players dressed for the scrimmage, 17 were either freshmen or sophomores and 4 were upperclassmen.

Most of the quarterfinalist 2009 team has graduated and Coach Tinsley has a very young squad to begin rebuilding the team.  With only Hakeem "Doc" Welch returning from last year's starters, the 3-point sharpshooter will be the nucleus to build around.

"The kids are having to get used to and bought in to a program that perhaps is going in a different direction than in the past.  The success of the past 3 years was unprecedented in ASH Hoops but the program we're starting is just different," Coach Tinsley iterated. "And it's going to take some getting used to by the kids."

There were initially around 50 kids trying for a roster spot on the team but after a few hard weeks of intense training, many found out that earning a spot on a Class 4-A basketball team that has the expectations of ASH Athletics, was a little harder and more work than they thought.  Now down to only 21 players that consists of freshmen team, junior varsity team, and varsity team, Coach Tinsley is anxious to welcome the athletes that may join the club from the football team after a very successful football season.  ASH Football is currently ranked #8 in the state and is poised to go deep in the playoffs.  Some of ASH's best athletes have many skills and talents that could fit in on just about any of ASH sports.

Meanwhile, ASH will begin the season with a very tough schedule pitted against some of the best teams in the state who not only made the playoffs last year but advanced deep.

If past history is any indication, Coach Tinsley will take the team he has and get all he can possibly get from them.  ASH Hoops looks for building a foundation that will yield positive results not only this year but for years to come.

COME SUPPORT YOUR ASH TROJANS THIS YEAR!

By Jeff Matthews • jmatthews@thetowntalk.com • July 11, 2009

People empathized with Alan Tinsley.

Tinsley didn't think that way. He just went back to work where he was, trying to instill the hard work and discipline that are the hallmarks of his coaching philosophy and trusting that the right job would come along at the right time.

And then it did.

"God always has a way of doing His will in our lives," Tinsley said. "But it's not always on our timing. Sometimes you have to wait for God's timing, and you end up in a better place than you ever thought you would be."

That better place for Tinsley is Alexandria Senior High, which introduced him as its new boys basketball coach Friday.

"I've had so many close calls, so many opportunities that didn't work out," Tinsley said. "I absolutely believe this was the right opportunity to be back home again."

Tinsley inherits a team that won 29 games and came within one game of the Top 28 under former coach Alex Perkins, who left to take a job at Woodlawn in Shreveport. When searching for Perkins' replacement, principal Billy Albritton was understandably looking for someone who could bring the same level of success.

Tinsley, who had turned around Avoyelles after doing the same thing at Marksville and Tioga, fit the bill.

"He has 17 years with coach Gene Rushing at Louisiana College," Albritton said. "I don't know anyone who wouldn't want to have that résumé in their back pocket. Then coach Tinsley proved himself out on his own. I was looking for an individual who could take us to the next level, and I think he can get that done."

Tinsley, though, will be working with an almost entirely new group of players. Just one starter and three of the Trojans' top 10 players will be back.

"You're talking about losing eight or nine seniors, at least seven of which played a very extensice role in their success," Tinsley said. "It's extremely challenging, but I'm looking forward to it."