Playoffs were a roller coaster for Trojans

The phrase “emotional roller coaster” is used a lot in sports. Perhaps overused. But if that applies to any team’s story over the past week, it’s that of the Euless Trinity boys basketball team.

After stumbling down the stretch of the district season and squeaking into the playoffs as the fourth seed from District 5-6A, Trojan players wanted just one opportunity to prove they were better than their recent results. The team responded with a heart-stopping overtime upset of District 6-6A champion Denton Guyer.

But for as sweet as last Tuesday was, Friday was every bit as bitter. In a reversal of fortune, Trinity found itself on the wrong end of an 87-86 double-overtime loss to Duncanville.

“I think in the last week we were part of two of the best high school games I’ve ever been associated with,” Trinity coach Mark Villines said. “And we got to feel both ends of the spectrum.”

Villines has faced some tough moments and challenging seasons in the past, but this one will stand out.

“The [first-round] upset with Myles [Turner] was definitely devastating and hard, but as far as emotional roller coaster, this one takes the cake,” he said. “No doubt.”

Trying to find the silver lining, Villines was pleased to see everything he’d asked from his team throughout the season.

“They kept their composure; they fought hard the whole game,” he said. “We felt like we finally got the best basketball out of these guys in the last two games. And that’s kind of what you want as a coach. We felt like they played the most collectively as a team in the postseason, and they saw the results. You upset Denton Guyer and you’re basically a play or two away from reaching the third round, which has only been done twice before in the history of Trinity High School.”

Villines has the benefit of maturity and experience on his side. For the players, perspective was hard to come by in the hours following Friday’s loss.

“There were some positives to it, but it definitely hurts. It’s bitter. But I think we’re going to reflect on it later and look back and realize what a good season it has been,” the coach said. “I think they will realize that, but Friday night, no. They were devastated. There was tremendous pain and agony on their part just knowing if we could have just done this, this or this. I think there was maybe a little guilt with some of them. But we tried to impress upon them they don’t need to feel guilty about this. Hold your heads up.

“Our motto all season has been ‘things happen for a reason.’ This doesn’t make sense right now — it hurts,” Villines added. “It just wasn’t our destiny. We just weren’t destined to do it Friday night. They need to hold their heads high because they did give everything they had. They were exhausted; they were out of gas. We as coaches were exhausted. We’re just trying to get them to keep their chest up and shoulders back because they deserve it.”

This story was originally published February 28, 2017 at 2:40 PM with the headline "Playoffs were a roller coaster for Trojans."