Down by a point with time running out in the first quarter, Coppell senior guard Adam Moussa drew a foul and went to the line, hitting both free throws to put the Cowboys up by two over Euless Trinity. . 

A few seconds later senior guard Brandon Taylor stole the ball back and got fouled, and the Cowboys had a three point lead at the end of the quarter. Three quarters later, after the Cowboys held the lead for the remainder of the game, they walked away with a 58-38 win over the Trojans.

The Trojans took an early lead at the beginning of the first. With an intense press defense, they got a few early steals on the Coppell offense. However, as the quarter went on, the Cowboys adjusted to the aggressive press and began to move the ball up the court better.

“Part of it is that we’ve reached a point in our season when we’re 8-1 and teams know that we’ve had success and we’ve played well. Going forward, every team we play is going to want to come out and give us their best shot off the start,” Coppell coach Clint Schnell said. “Hopefully in the future we’ll respond to that and get off to a more aggressive, fast start.” 

In the second, the Cowboys came out more prepared. For most of the quarter, Moussa and Taylor, as well as sophomore forwards Ryan Agarwal and Anthony Black traded three pointers. This created a shooting threat the Cowboys capitalized on the rest of the game.

“[Making three pointers] really get our energy and confidence up,” Black said. “We play with less stress and it really gets our offense going.”

In the second half, the continuation of Coppell’s three-point success combined with aggressive defensive plays. Trinity guards would be met at mid-court by either Moussa or Taylor, where their ball-handling would be tested. If they got the pass off or dribbled around them, Black, Agarwal or senior forward Clayton Hunter would be there to try to block their shots.

“We preach being aggressive defensively. We want to make teams work to get around us,” Schnell said. “When your team gets aggressive and they know they can be aggressive, it gets them energized and that really helps our play.”

By the end of the third quarter, the Cowboys had racked up a 45-26 lead. Then, keeping the same style of play throughout the fourth, they finished off the game with a 20-point win.

Coppell plays on Tuesday at 8 p.m. in the CHS Arena against Mesquite.

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