Troy settles for 4th at district tourney

Climbing aboard the team bus on Saturday afternoon after a pair of double-digit losses in the District 7-B boys basketball tournament, Troy had to be wondering if it could regain the successful rhythm that dominated most of the time during a 13-5 regular season.

The Trojans didn’t look like themselves in losses of 63-51 to Thompson Falls on Friday and 47-35 to Eureka on Saturday. Although the opposition played well and obviously had something to do with those outcomes, Troy simply stepped out of character.

“It was a lack of discipline,” veteran coach Tony Smith said. “We’d get down and guys were trying to take over the game. Once you do that, it turns into an open gym situation.”

Smith made no excuses and would not take anything away from the victories by the Bluehawks and Lions. But one fact behind the scenes was that at least a half-dozen Trojans had been in bed sick leading up to the tournament.

“We just didn’t have the spark I normally see out of the team,” Smith said.  “We’re very unhealthy right now. Physically we did not have it.”

Thompson Falls never trailed in its first victory over the Trojans this season. Troy swept the Bluehawks during the regular season to take the No. 2 seed into districts.

The game remained close to about the midway point of the second quarter. That’s when Thompson Falls put together a 12-2 run to finish out the half.

The Trojans never fully recovered although they did make things somewhat interesting toward the end.

Thompson Falls saw its lead get down to seven with 3:43 remaining in the game after Jesse Day hit a 3-pointer. The Bluehawks failed on the other end and Troy came back with a chance to cut the deficit to just five.

The Trojans couldn’t capitalize on that opportunity but later cut the Bluehawk lead to six after Clayton Kyriss hit his fourth 3-pointer of the game at the 2:34 mark. But that would be it. Thompson Falls ended the game with an 8-2 run for the victory.

Kyriss, Day and Shado Garrett each scored a dozen points for the Trojans.

On Saturday in the third-place game, Troy just could not find any magic in its shot. The Trojans shot less than 20 percent from the field for the game. And until the final minute when Dillon Curry scored a pair of hoops, Aaron Palmer had made all but one of the team’s shots.

“Obviously, we were not shooting the ball well,” Smith said. “If we had shot the ball well, that changes the whole nature of business.”

Not counting Palmer, the other four starters combined to shoot 1-for-28 – or 3.6 percent from the floor. Palmer ended up with 22 points on seven field goals and 8-of-14 from the line. On the boards, Palmer had a game-high 12 rebounds.

On Eureka’s side, three players hit double figures including 17 from Ryan Holder. Marcus Pluid, the Lions’ 6-foot-10 post, added 10 points and 11 rebounds. Ben Dechart also had 10 points.

The Trojans now turn their attention to divisionals.

“We need to get our discipline back if we’re going to compete with the other teams at divisionals,” Smith said.

Troy players had just Monday and Tuesday to recover from any illnesses while attempting to re-discover elements of the game that led to so much success earlier this season.

“We’ve got two days to get that back and play within ourselves,” Smith said.

The 16-team divisional tournament on the campus of Salish Kootenai College in Pablo begins on Wednesday. As the No. 4 seed, the Trojans have to face the top seed out of the 6-B District. Loyola Sacred Heart defeated Florence in the championship game of the 8-B tourney and will get Troy in the first round.

“Generally, the closer you get to Missoula, the better the teams are,” Smith laughed.

The top two teams will punch their tickets to the Class B State Playoffs. The Trojans’ last appearance at state came in 2003.

Bluehawks 63, Trojans 51

District 7-B Tournament

Friday at Libby

Thompson Falls (63)

Gerstenberger 2 0-0 5, Clark 8 1-5 17, Nigh 0 5-8 5, Buckingham 7 0-0 19, Wood 4-6 0-0 8, Dalby 3 0-0 6, Molzhon 1 1-2 3, Kinkade 0 0-0 0, Knapp 0 0-0 0, Pavlik 0 0-0 0, Mosher 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 7-15 63.

Troy (51)

Kyriss 4 0-0 12, Garrett 4 3-3 12, Palmer 2 2-4 6, Day 4 3-5 12, Hammrich 3 0-4 6, Rebo 1 0-0 3, Jones 0 0-0 0, Powell 0 0-0 0, Curry 0 0-0 0, Hoffman 0 0-0 0, Alexander 0 0-0 0, Rayson 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 8-16 51.

Three-Pointers–Thompson Falls 6 (Buckingham 5, Gerstenberger), Troy 7 (Kyriss 4, Day, Garrett, Rebo). Rebounds–Thompson Falls 37 (Wood 11), Troy 38 (Hammrich 11). Assists–Thompson Falls 14 (Gerstenberger 6), Troy 9 (Garrett 2, Day 2, Hammrich 2). Total Fouls–Thompson Falls 14, Troy 16. Fouled Out–Palmer. Technical Fouls–None.

Lions 47, Trojans 35

District 7-B Tournament

Saturday at Libby

Eureka (47)

Thomson 0 0-0 0, Sanders 3 2-3 8, Holder 6 1-4 17, Dechart 3 4-5 10, Pluid 5 0-0 10, Curtiss 1 0-0 2, Davis 0 0-0 0, Peterson 0 0-0 0, DeShazer 0 0-0 0, Bartmess 0 0-0 0, No. 15 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 7-12 47.

Troy (35)

Kyriss 0 0-2 0, Garrett 0 0-0 0, Palmer 7 8-14 22, Day 1 5-6 8, Hammrich 0 1-2 1, Rebo 0 0-0 0, Jones 0 0-0 0, Alexander 0 0-0 0, Curry 2 0-0 4, Powell 0 0-0 0, Rayson 0 0-0 0, Hoffman 0 0-0 0. Totals 10 14-24 35.

Three-Pointers–Eureka 4 (Holder 4), Troy 1 (Day). Rebounds–Eureka 33 (Pluid 11), Troy 35 (Palmer 12). Assists–Eureka 12 (Sanders 3, Dechart 3, Davis 3), Troy 8 (Kyriss 3). Total Fouls–Eureka 19, Troy 17. Fouled Out–Jones, Pluid. Technical Fouls–None.