Both Trojan boys and girls take Arlee

The Trojans were on fire this weekend, defeating St. Ignatius, 52-43 in Troy last Friday night and beating Arlee on the road the next night, 61-46, while the Lady Trojans beat Arlee in double overtime, 67-63.

Aaron Palmer led in scoring for Troy Friday night against Mission with 27 points and 18 rebounds, helping the Trojans to a 17 point lead at the half.

Mission came back in the third however, holding Troy to 8 points in the third quarter.

"It was the ugliest quarter we played all year," said coach Tony Smith. "We were ahead by 16 going into the 4th quarter, then we get pressed in our own gym."

Smith noted the small size of the gym makes it hard to hear at times, and although he is greatful for the crowds, there is a lack of team leadership when the coaching staff isn't right next them - and they can't hear them - that works against them.

"It's a huge issue," added Smith. "We're young at guard and we just go goofy at home in the fourth quarter, missing five of their eight layups in the final quarter.

"Fortunately we played very well for most of the game and got that lead," said Smith, noting "They are extremely quick."

Smith said he was pleased with the team's recovery of their bad fourth quarter when they played Arlee the next night on the road, stressing consistency.

"I told them, you can't forget that we spent three quarters of that game playing superb basketball. You can't let that last quarter cloud."

Two Trojans scored in the double digits, with Palmer leading the way at 24 points, Hammrich with 10.

Zack McDougall grabbed 12 rebounds.

"Brian Hammrich played great both nights," he said. "Shado and Brian and Zack are most consistent."

Giving up ten points in the first half to Arlee, Smith noted Trojan defense is key to their victories.

"Our defense has been stopping most of the teams we play," he said. "When teams score, it's mostly due to turnovers, not because of our defense.

"We go through spurts where we look like a million dollars and then we must try to find more consistency.

"Obviously, I can't be unhappy with where we're at. Given the way things are playing out in our league. We're in great shape right now."

Smith noted how happy he was to see the Trojan girls win in double overtime against Arlee.

"I just want to say how thrilled I was with the girls' victory in Arlee and that we guys are really supportive of our girls," he said. "As coaches, we're all in this business together. We want kids to be successful. They're just as dear to me as my guys," he said, adding that junior varsity coach Sheila Ettiene did an excellent job of coaching the girls, who stepped in for former coach Troy DeBoard, who resigned last week due to health reasons.

Troy Girls won 67-63 against Arlee with the help of Delsey Olds' career-high 30 points in the game and netting 12 of 16 freethrows.

Liz Straley and Molly Harpole also scored in the double digits with 11 and 10 respectively.

Against Mission Friday night, the Lady Trojans were unable to clinch the lead, losing 48-32, despite coming within three points of St. Ignatius in the third quarter.

Olds led for the Lady Trojans against Mission with 10 points. Harpole contributed 9 points while Straley added 8.

The Lady Trojans are currently 8-7 and play Eureka at home Thursday.

The boys are on the road Friday night playing against Eureka, who they beat by 2 last time.

"They're just starting to get hot," said Smith. "They've got lots of talent, so this week, coming up, we just have to compete.

"We've got everything to gain and nothing to lose," he added, "but we're going to have our hands full with both Libby (Tuesday in Libby) and on the road this weekend.

"If we don't play smarter and more disciplined on offense, we're going to get smoked."