NATCHEZ — No two players on the Trinity Episcopal Day School boys basketball team share a bond like brothers Dre and Tommy McCoy, but the two siblings are great examples of the closeness of the entire team. The McCoys do not see their relationship being that much more powerful than the relationship they have with all the other Saints players.

“All of us are brothers,” Tommy said.

This season is a first for the two biological brothers, who are sharing an experience that they have never shared.

“We’ve never been on the same team. This is our first year together,” Dre said. “It’s been different. We’re not used to playing with each other, except in backyard ball and practicing in the gym.”

Both boys started basketball at a young age, and people always compared them to one another, but this is the first year they have shared the court.

“People try to compare us,” Dre said. “But he’s always played outside, and I’ve played down low, so you cant really compare.”

Dre, a junior, stands a few inches taller than his sophomore brother, and they said playing different positions has made them both better players.

“I was always playing inside, so I help him with his post play, and he helps me with the guard spot,” Dre said.

Tommy said his older brother’s best advice was to play tough down low.

“Always finish strong,” Tommy said.

The two serve more to motivate each other that teach, however.

“We push each other in everything we do,” Dre said.

The two underclassmen have enjoyed playing with one another this year, and they are excited about the future of Trinity basketball next season when they both return.

“It’s been fun,” Tommy said. “We have a lot of sophomores and juniors coming back, but this team has great senior leadership this year, and they are showing us how to be leaders when we are seniors.”

But the McCoys still have plenty of business to take care of this season.

Trinity dropped the final regular season game of the season to Brookhaven Friday despite Dre’s game-high 18 points. But the South State playoffs are still on the horizon, and the Saints will make their run at a title beginning tonight.