Ask any of Muscle Shoals’ four senior basketball players, and they’ll provide the same reason for the Trojans’ improvement from last season.

In a word, it’s chemistry — the kind that relates to how people get along with each other, the kind that’s critical for teammates to work together toward a common goal.

The seniors — forward Ryan Johnson

and guards Mikey Bailey, Chase Craig and Jalen Triplett — say it was lacking as Muscle Shoals limped to a 13-14 record last season, which ended in the first round of the area

tournament.

This year, it’s a different story.

As they prepare for a Class 5A, Area 16 tournament opener Friday against a Russellville team they have edged twice this season, the Trojans (19-10) say they’re having fun playing together under the leadership of the four seniors.

“We just get along more — not all of that arguing like we had last year,” Johnson said. “Everybody is on the same page. We’re just more of a family.”

Looking back, Johnson and his teammates theorize about what exactly prevented that last season.

When former Trojans standout and current LSU starter Ralston Turner, a five-year varsity player, graduated after the 2009-10 season, it created a power vacuum, they said.

As players tried to fill the leadership void, tension arose.

“When Ralston left, there were some people on the team — I’m not going to lie; I was one of them — who thought somebody had to step up,” Johnson said. “I thought it was me; other people thought it was them. We should have just been playing together instead of worrying about who it was going to be. We would have been a better team.”

The situation climaxed when Johnson walked off the court during a game at Russellville on Jan. 21, 2011. He sat out the remaining nine games of the season, but Muscle Shoals coach Jody Lanier left the door open for his return.

“It was just a decision he made and you can’t really allow that as a coach,” Lanier said. “We sat down and I talked to him and told him he had his senior year ahead and I hoped he comes back for it, but the best thing would be to sit the rest of the year out.

“He’s responded really well. He’s a great guy, a great young man. He’s done everything we’ve asked of him. He’s been a leader for us ever since.”

Said Johnson: “It was just heat of the moment. I was frustrated with how I was playing. I got mad and walked off the court. I shouldn’t have done it. I regret it and I’m glad I’m back on the team. It gave me some time to think. Everything happens for a reason.”

Johnson leads the Trojans in scoring, averaging 14 points a game, and he recently surpassed 1,000 career points at Muscle Shoals. He credits his senior classmates for helping him get back to the court.

“We were telling him the next day after it happened, ‘Hey, we need you. You have to come back,’” Bailey said. “He did and has been doing a good job. There are no hard feelings.

“We’re all close friends. We’re pretty much like brothers. We’ve got that chemistry and work together, which is why we’ve done better this season.”

So far this season, Muscle Shoals has won 13 games by fewer than 10 points, including nine by four points or fewer. Last season, the Trojans lost seven games by fewer than 10 points.

“You can tell how big of a difference we’ve had in closing out games,” Lanier said. “We’ve lost a couple close ones, but we’ve won most of them. And I think most of that is because of those four seniors.

“Because they’re so close, it’s kind of gotten us over the hump. You take away half of those close wins, and we’re right back where we were last year.”

After losing three of its first five games this season, things really started to come together as Muscle Shoals put together a six-game winning streak and won 11 of its next 13.

Now, the Trojans are looking to put together another streak and advance to the regional tournament for the first time since 2008.

“It would mean everything in the world to us,” Johnson said. “I’ve been on the varsity team for four years and haven’t been there yet. We’d love to do it, and can go even farther than that if we stick together.”

Bryan App can be reached at 256-740-5730 or bryan.app@TimesDaily.com.