Trojans clinch playoffs, will watch finales for seeding

The Trinity boys basketball team has clinched a playoff berth for the third straight season, but with one game left, the Trojans are as far from knowing their fate as they possibly can.

With Richland locking down District 7-6A, four teams are in the hunt for the final three playoff spots.

Trinity coach Mark Villines isn't quite sure how everything will play out, but with a bye, the Trojans are forced to sit back and watch where they'll land for next week's bi-district round.

Colleyville Heritage faces Richland, Coppell takes on Haltom and Southlake Carroll plays Hurst L.D. Bell. The Trojans are 6-6, Heritage and Coppell are 6-5 and Carroll sits at 5-6. There could be a chance for a four-way tie at 6-6.

This is how it could play out. If the Carroll wins and Heritage and Coppell lose, the four teams will be tied.

“Not sure how we would break it down, but it likely would go head-to-head against each other. If that's the case, we're 4-2 so we would have the best record,” Villines said.

The Trojans would be 4-2 against the other three teams, with their two losses coming against Coppell, 62-37 on Jan. 16 and Heritage, 41-40 on Jan. 3.

If all three win, Trinity and Carroll would be tied for fourth and since the Trojans swept the Dragons, they would get the final seed in the district.

If Trinity is in a three-way tie with Heritage and Carroll, and Coppell defeats Haltom, Coppell would be second, Trinity third and the final two would play a tiebreaker game to see who is the final one in and who gets eliminated.

Coppell won its first meeting with Haltom 56-46 on Jan. 23. Carroll defeated Bell 56-33 in the teams' first game while Richland beat Heritage 61-46.

The Trojans will also attempt to make it past the bi-district round for the first time since 2000.

C.J. Bird and Jhivvan Jackson lead Trinity this season while Jacob Jackson has manned the middle.

Jackson scored 25 points, but it wasn't enough as Trinity lost to Richland in the season finale 73-72. Before that, Trinity had won three straight by an average of six points – scoring 60 points in that span, slightly up on its season average of 58 points per game.

Come playoff time, Trinity will face either Duncanville, Cedar Hill or South Grand Prairie.

This story was originally published February 16, 2015 at 4:33 PM with the headline "Trojans clinch playoffs, will watch finales for seeding."