Look for the Tennessee Temple Academy basketball teams to be a little more excited than usual when they take the court for the District 5-A tournament this weekend.

Since neither Temple team has played in a game since Feb. 6, the two-week break has left players with plenty of time to practice — and to build anticipation for the postseason.

“I think it’ll kind of feel like the first game of the year,” Crusaders senior James Kemp said. “We’ll be anxious to get back on the court and ready to go.”

The 5-A tournament begins Friday at Tennessee Temple University with first-round games, but the top two seeds will receive a bye into Saturday’s quarterfinals. The championship games will be held next Tuesday, and Crusaders coach Caleb Marcum thinks the two-week break will actually be an advantage for his team.

“I really think it’s going to help us,” he said. “A lot of our guys are really happy about it. It lets us get in here and work on some things. A lot of times our practices are harder than games, so we feel like we can use this time to get better as a team.

“This time of the year, you want to focus on what you’ve done to get here, but you want to be prepared for anything. If we can get better at what we do, we feel like that will get us there in the end.”

Temple won district and region boys’ championships last year before advancing to the state tournament, and it brings a 22-3 record into the postseason. One of the few marks on the Crusaders’ record is a season-ending loss to rival Grace Academy, which didn’t keep them from earning district’s the No. 1 seeding but may have made them even more motivated to prepare for the tournament.

“We just learned that we can’t be overconfident,” Kemp said. “We can’t just show up and expect to win. We have to work hard every day.”

The Temple girls also fell to Grace in their regular-season finale, dropping them from first place in the district into a tie with Copper Basin for second. A Grace win tonight at Copper Basin would clinch the top seeding for the Lady Golden Eagles, and a loss would create a three-way tie atop the standings.

Although the Lady Crusaders were disappointed when they couldn’t close out the regular-season title, senior Candace Dyer said just to be in contention this year after losing 17 games last season has been a major accomplishment.

“This season has been incredible,” Dyer said. “Nobody expected us to be where we’re at right now. I’ve played with most of these girls since fifth grade, and being here together our senior year definitely means a lot to me. It’s been a big turnaround.”

Despite struggles with injuries, first-year coach Mark Alexander’s team already has 15 wins, and the Lady Crusaders’ performance against district opponents so far this season gives them reason to believe there are more in store.

“It’s been a great ride for everybody involved,” Alexander said. “It’s meant so much for me to see the seniors have the success they’ve had. I think they’ve exceeded everybody’s expectations, and they deserve every bit of the credit. They’re a great bunch of girls.”