Troy turns heads at tournament

In the District 8-B tournament, Troy beat Plains, 51-41 Friday night - almost clinching another upset the next - only to be stopped by a basket against number one seeded Thompson Falls, 64-66.

Losing to Thompson Falls twice earlier in the season by 30 points did not deter the Trojans.

"We rose to the challenge," said coach Tony Smith. "We really corrected a lot of mistakes and were able to handle it most of the game. We had a lot of fans there. It was a wonderful evening."

Ahead in the first quarter, 19-14, mistakes reminiscent of their earlier season caused them to fall behind in the next quarter.

"We didn't take good care of the ball," said Smith. "They outscored us by 11 points in the second quarter - we were down by 6 at half."

Although the Trojans got to within one point at the end of the third quarter, they couldn't make up the loss.

"We played as good as we could for 28 or 29 minutes, but that three minute stretch against a very, very good basketball team really cost us.

"I never doubted that we would be right back in it with a chance to win," he added.

Although the team had a chance to win with seconds left, they missed two freethrows and couldn't convert.

"That's OK," said Smith. "It was a fantastic game. All the kids that played contributed so much."

Palmer poured in a game-high of 25 points, while Shado Garrett had 14 and Clayton Kyriss contributed 9; Jesse Day canned eight.

Sophomore Brian Hammrich picked up five defensive charges.

"In all the years I've been coaching I've never seen a kid get five charges," he said. "You sacrifice your body and go through that kind of pain for the team."

Against Plains, the Trojans had a 9 point lead in first half and were up by 10 at the end of third quarter.

"Our defense was superb," said Smith. "It was a great team effort. Everybody played hard."

Stopping Plains point guard, Tanner Columbo, was part of their defensive success, holding him to five points in the game.

Palmer led for Troy with 18 points, while Jesse Day had 11.

Matt Rogers and Shado Garrett each tallied eight points a piece.

Smith was pleased with the balanced scoring, but said it got a little ugly in the fourth quarter.

"They put pressure on us and we didn't handle it very well," he said. "But we answered and each team scored 15 points in the fourth quarter."

Paul Green led for Plains with 16 points and Trent Thompson followed with 14.

Troy plays number three seeded Deer Lodge (13-9) this Thursday in Polson at 2:30.

"Here we are - we were picked last and we ended up getting into the championship game," said Smith, who added that three things happened that it to take place.

"We had to stay healthy with no key injuries.," he said. "Number two, you have to pass your classes and not have any kids lose their eligibility due to grades."

Smith said number three involves training rule violations such as curfews, tobacco or alcohol.

"We haven't had any violations. We have practised hard and we have stayed healthy and made good decisions in and out of the classroom."

Smith is hopeful of their chances at Divisionals.

"If we play well for 32 minutes, I believe we can beat anyone in Divisionals," said Smith. "We started out slow, but my philosophy is defense and rebounding and now our offense is catching up."

Smith's team echoed his optimism.

"Definitely what helped us out was team chemistry," said Palmer of the season. "We did what we needed to win."

"Overall, we started out a little slow," said Palmer. "But we started clicking together as a team. Noone expected that with us."

Kyriss said that everyone came together when it counted, and the Trojan coaches and practises really helped them, almost emerging with an upset over Thompson Falls.

"It just shows how much we've improved," he said. "I don't think we could have played any better than we did. It could have gone either way."

Kyriss added that if they play like last weekend - with great defense and as a team - they will advance.

Garrett said he was proud of his team as well.

"I thought we played absolutely fantastic as a team, because of the leadership of our coaches and our seniors."

Garrett said that teamwork has been the Trojans' driving force.

"We started out iffy as far as teamwork, then as the season progressed we got better and better."

Palmer added that Deer Lodge would be a challenge.

"They're really tough - very physical down low," he said. "It will be a hard fought game," he said, adding that attacking the basket in rebounds will be key.

Garrett was optimistic in their chances advancing in Divisionals.

"I think we have a really good shot at it," said Garrett. "Deer Lodge is a good team and it should be a good game."