Foul trouble, turnovers lead to Stillwater rally and win

There was a point in Troy’s boys basketball game against Stillwater Christian when the Cougars’ senior forward, Josh Bray, decided he didn’t want to miss anymore.

He scored 15 points in the second half en route to 26 points in his team’s 51-44 win over the Trojans.

“I’ve been coaching 25 years and I’ve never had a kid work harder,” said Stillwater Head Coach Ted Clark. “Even though he is gifted, he is very humble.”

Bray’s scoring spree came in part to Troy’s fatigue, and also because the Trojans’ leading scorer, junior forward Bruce Metz, got into foul trouble.

Metz had 13 points in the first half and none in the second. With four fouls he became cautious, and Troy didn’t have the height to match up.

“We just couldn’t get the shots, I guess,” Metz said. “Turnovers were a problem.”

Even with Troy’s troubles, the athleticism was evident for the Trojans. There were two ties and nine lead changes in the second half alone. 

“The teams were pretty evenly matched,” said Troy Head Coach Cory Andersen. “I’m proud of them. We did a lot of things well and played hard.”

Guards Gabe Hickman and Austin Grable had 11 points each. Seven Trojans scored in the game.

Grable is the team’s only senior, while the Cougars had seven on its squad, leaving experience as a possible issue for Troy. 

But even with youth, the Trojans bring a team that has talent and rebounds very well. The offense isn’t centered on one athlete and the defense is tenacious.

The biggest problem going forward will be ball-handling. Troy passed into heavy traffic too often and flubbed away the ball a few times too many.

If the Trojans can hammer that down, they might have the talent to beat just about anybody in Class B.

Troy heads to Plains at 3 p.m. Friday.