Streaks were always meant to be broken, and because of that, the Charles Henderson boys’ basketball team can finally breathe a sigh relief.

After beginning the current season on a 10-game losing streak, the Trojans finally tasted victory in the recent Ozark Holiday Tournament, not once, but three times.

CHHS came away with victories over Tallassee, Pike County and Andalusia in the tournament before losing to the host team, Carroll High School, in the championship game, 59-47.

Now, however, the Trojans will have a chance to exact some revenge, as the team will enter region play against the very same team that beat them last – the Eagles.

And CHHS head coach Carl Hollis sees this as a welcoming opportunity.

“I think we were playing some pretty good basketball during the tournament,” the coach said.

“We looking poised for the first time and we played well defensively. We still had way too many turnovers in some of those games we won and I thought we would play hard for a half, before easing up and letting some of the teams come back. We can’t do those types of things. But this is the time of the season where you find out what you are made up of, this is the time of the season where you man up,” Hollis added. “We got 12 games left, anything could happen.”

As for the Eagles, the team from Ozark will be entering the game with an 8-9 overall record, after beating both New Brockton and Luverne before taking down CHHS in the holiday tournament.

Thanks to the first meeting between the two teams back on Dec. 30, Hollis believes his team will be better prepared for what is to come tonight.

“Carroll is a team that is going to bring a lot of pressure at us,” the coach said. “They protect the 3-point line very well and are quick to transition with the ball. We are going to have to be ready to play (today), we are going to have to be ready to be physical.”

Despite the team’s 3-11 overall current record, Hollis said he is seeing improvement on the court and more important, he said he has noticed his players beginning to become more confident in what they do – an attribute that he hopes to see more of.

“We have a lot players who are working hard to get better,” he said, “and we have a lot of players who try to do too much with the ball.

“A lot of people have told me not to worry about this year’s team because they are so young, and that they are going to be good in the future. But the future is never a given, we have to win now. These guys are young, but they know what is expected of them – they know what they have to do to win now. I’m beginning to see that in some players, but we are going to need more of that now that region play is about to begin.”

The Trojans will take on the Eagles of Carroll today, and then travel to Rehobeth for a Friday night game before returning home against Northview on Saturday.