The Waxahachie Advantage Eagles, who are still learning how to fly down the court, were no match for the experienced, sword wielding Italy Gladiators Friday night. To make it tougher on the Eagles, Italy’s players were excited to showcase their skills in front of Gladiator alumni legends that had returned for Throwback Night.

Italy was already winning big 16-5 by the 3:08 mark of the 1st period. Several Gladiators were in the action including Jasenio Anderson, Heath Clemons, Dontavius Clemons and Diamond Rodgers. Italy, apparently treating this like a tune-up game for Gateway, executed their offensive sets building a huge 1st period lead.

Italy continued to thrill the alumni and fans in the 2nd period. H. Clemons mesmerizes defenders with his ball handling skills and then slips right past them. Jasenio Anderson manages Italy’s offensive game plan with flawless perfection, picking and choosing which one of the Italy weapons should be utilized. The Gladiators methodically dismantled the Eagles and capped off the 1st half performance when Italy’s #3 Oscar Gonzalez impressed the old timers by drilling a 3-pointer, just beating the halftime buzzer.

In the second half, the Eagles gave it their best shot but Italy had too much fire power. The Italy alumni were proud of the boys. They reminded us of us back in the day. The Gladiators eventually finished off the Eagles 78-35 but it could have been much worse. Overall, Throwback Night was a fun night. Past Gladiator legends brought their families, the decorations were neat to peruse and the evening ended with that warm, fuzzy feeling that the Italy Gladiator tradition lives on…one layup at a time.

Italy Scoring:
Darrin Moore, 16-points
Heath Clemons, 13-points
Jasenio Anderson, 12-points
Dontavius Clemons, 11-points
Diamond Rodgers, 10-points
Colton Campbell, 4-points
John Isaac, 4-points
Desmond Anderson, 3-points
Oscar Gonzalez, 3-points
Aaron Thomas, 2-points
Dan Crownover, 2-points