After a first-round win against Temple, the boy’s basketball team will meet Naaman Forrest in Round 2. Legacy finished the season with a record of 9-5 in district and 22-9 overall. Head coach Cornelius Mitchell has led the team in their first season in 6A to play up to the 6A standard in their first season in this division.
“They have grown tremendously in being closer to accepting their roles, because if you don’t do your role then we’re exposed,” Mitchell said.
With the jump to 6A, opponents have become more challenging with teams like Duncanville, who is ranked first in the state according to Max Preps. Pairing them with schools such as Desoto, who is ranked 17th in the state, creates a tough district.
“In 5A you would only have three or four teams that are competitive, but now everybody’s good. Every game has that district championship feeling,” Coach Mitchell said. “That’s been the hardest adjustment, just knowing that you have to play every game and there are no nights off.”
Despite the toughness of this new division, Mitchell has prepared his players to handle the hardships and successes of the season.
“I always tell them you can’t get too high. You have to be able to take the success and handle it, but then you also have to be able to accept failure and rejection,” Coach Mitchell said. “So my biggest point this year has been to stay steady, there’s gonna be ups and downs but you want to stay focused. That’s been a huge deal for us.”
The Broncos sat third in district, which earned them a playoff berth.
“We started the season with our best player breaking his ankle. So then you have a locker room of people who are lost because they thought the season was over,” Coach Mitchell said.
Even with this big loss to the team, the Broncos were able to finish second in district and make it to the playoffs where they faced Temple in the opening round. Legacy came away with the win 57-51. Isaiah Manning led the team with 19 points.
“We started the game off really slow, lacking the energy that makes us who we are,” Manning said. “Once we found our identity and put pressure on [Temple] on the defensive side of the floor we opened up the game and were able to come away with the win.”
The Broncos will play Naaman Forest High School tonight, Feb. 23, at 7 p.m. The game will be played at Irving High School.
