STC’s Eli Keahna looks to take a shot at the post on Thursday, January 30. The Trojans hosted Williamsburg for the conference game. Chronicle Photo/Allison ?Graham

South Tama boys basketball hosted Williamsburg for a conference game on Thursday, January 30 at the STC Round House. The game had been rescheduled due to winter weather.

The positive takeaway is that Eli Keahna has returned to the lineup after missing much of the season due to an injury. Since returning a week ago Saturday against Center Point Urbana, Keahna has made a noticeable difference offensively for the Trojans. He scored eight points off the bench against the Pointers. He also led the Trojans on Thursday with 11 points. He tied with Sonny DeMarce for four rebounds.

The not so great news is that the Trojans are still struggling with protecting the ball. Much of the first half Williamsburg picked the pocket of whoever had possession and ran down the court at lighting speed for a transition bucket. It happened over and over again. And it resulted in a 63-36 loss for the Trojans.

Despite the loss, the Trojans continue to show up and put forth all the effort they can manage on the court and that should not be overlooked.

As the regular season begins to conclude the IHSAA released post season substate assignments on Friday. We don’t know for sure who the Trojans will play at this point but they could face any of the following teams: Center Point-Urbana, Charles CityDecorah, Independence, Marion, Vinton Shellsburg or Waverly-Shell Rock. However historically the team with the best record will face the team with the worst. In that case the Trojans would see Marion for Round 1. Marion defeated STC 60-16 earlier this season.