Troy shuts down Red Devils, 56-29

A 6-foot senior who leads District 14-C in scoring at 20 points per game, Noxon’s Cody Linderman obviously draws a lot of attention on the basketball court.

In a game on the Red Devils’ home court on Jan. 3, Linderman erupted for 31 points in a double-overtime loss to Troy. On Friday night in a rematch between the two schools, the Trojans pitched a shutout on Linderman and routed the visiting Devils, 56-29.

“I didn’t expect this,” veteran coach Tony Smith said afterward. “They played Thompson Falls last night and that probably affected their energy to some degree.”

Trying to run the offense against the likes of Shado Garrett and his Troy teammates can also zap a ballclub’s energy. Garrett’s defensive effort resulted in a 0-for-12 shooting performance out of Linderman.

“Garrett’s defense on Linderman was just huge,” Smith said. “It takes everybody else helping out to stop a kid like that.”

The Trojans never trailed although they got off to a bit of a slow start. Troy scored six points out of the game but then had an immediate drought that lasted 3:22. Still, by the end of the opening eight minutes, the home team had built an 11-4 lead.

Garrett scored five of his seven points in the opening frame, which included a 3-pointer. Aaron Palmer, whose athleticism was showcased all over the court in a 21-point performance, grabbed eight of his 17 rebounds in the first quarter.

Troy led 15-10 at the 4:33 mark of the second quarter and then went on a 9-0 run to create a needed cushion. Palmer scored six of those nine points, including one hoop after a steal, and the Troy defense started to frustrate the visitors. In the first half, the Red Devils shot 21.7 percent and were outrebounded, 23-15.

“We had a good defensive scheme tonight,” Smith said. “I thought our defense was just really superb. We got good efforts out of all of our kids.”

In the third quarter, Troy only intensified its efforts and put the game out of reach. Jesse Day’s shot came alive as he scored eight of his 15 in that quarter. Day hit a pair of 3-pointers and both Clayton Kyriss and Palmer added long bombs of their own to slam the door shut.

Smith started to clear his bench with four minutes left in the game. Twelve players saw action and among that group, Dillon Curry scored four points, Kody Hoffman grabbed three rebounds, Ryan Rayson had two boards and Scotty Harper recorded an assist.

Jason Allen, who had scored 19 in that first game against Troy, finished with eight on Friday to lead the Devils.

On Saturday, District 7-B leader Plains escaped with a 41-33 win over the Trojans. The game was close throughout with good defense setting the tone.

“It was probably one of the finest games you could ever watch if you like defense,” Smith said. ‘Our defensive effort was great and if we could’ve shot the ball a little better, we would’ve come out of there with a victory.”

Troy trailed 35-32 with 30 seconds remaining and had a chance to tie. But a 3-point attempt couldn’t find the bottom of the net. Plains hit free throws the rest of the way to clinch it.

Smith was not disappointed with his team’s play in the loss,  saying “we’ve been extremely competitive on the road.”

Troy comes home Friday to face St. Ignatius and then travels to Arlee in a nonconference battle on Saturday.

It Was Over When …

Troy extended a 13-point halftime lead to a 42-21 advantage heading into the fourth quarter – too deep of a hole for the Devils to escape.

Game Ball

Troy senior Shado Garrett put the defensive hurt on Noxon’s top scorer – Cody Linderman. The Devil senior leads his league in scoring at around 20 points per game and hit for 30-plus in a game against the Trojans earlier this season. But this time around, he shot 0-for-12 from the field and had zero points.

Stat of the Game

Aaron Palmer had a great night from the field for Troy with 10-of-17 shooting (58.8 percent) yet struggled from the free-throw line at 0-for-6.

Trojans 56, Red Devils 29

Friday at Troy

Noxon (29)

Eaton 1 1-2 4, Wilkinson 3 0-0 6, Hay 3 0-0 6, Allen 4 0-0 8, C. Linderman 0 0-2 0, Herbig 0 0-0 0, Stocking 1 1-2 3, Dettwiler 0 0-0 0, J. Linderman 1 0-0 2, Eichert 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 2-6 29.

Troy (56)

Kyriss 2 0-0 5, Powell 1 0-0 2, Garrett 3 0-0 7, Palmer 10 0-6 21, Day 5 3-4 15, Jones 1 0-0 2, Rebo 0 0-0 0, Curry 2 0-0 4, Alexander 0 0-0 0, Hoffman 0 0-0 0, Harper 0 0-0 0, Rayson 0 0-0 0. Totals 24 3-10 56.

Three-Pointers–Noxon 1 (Eaton), Troy 5 (Day 2, Kyriss, Garrett, Palmer). Rebounds–Noxon 29 (C. Linderman 6, Stocking 6), Troy 42 (Palmer 17). Assists–Noxon 9 (C. Linderman 3), Troy 13 (Day 5). Total Fouls–Noxon 14, Troy 8. Fouled Out–None. Technical Fouls–None.

Horsemen 41, Trojans 33

Saturday at Plains

Troy (33)

Kyriss 6, Garrett 8, Palmer 12, Day 7.

Plains (41)

Green 8, Fryxell 1, M. Thompson 12, Ballantyne 6, T. Thompson 14.