Trojans beat Lions at home, triumph over rival Vikings

Sometimes, the team that wins championships is the one that is peaking just at the right time, tournament time.

It appears the Troy Trojans boys basketball team may just be one of those teams, having disposed of arch-rival the Eureka Lions in convincing fashion, 74-59, on Friday night and then dispensing of Bigfork, 38-36, the following night against the Vikings’ in Columbia Falls.

Fourth-ranked Bigfork had twice beaten Troy early this season, but the local boys had their way with them when in counted most, in the District 7 Play-In Game, which sets seeds for the state tournament.

“I think there were times we played good defense, and there were times we didn’t,” said Trojans coach Cory Andersen. “I feel like on offense, we missed shots we normally make, which I think let them back in the game. Overall, it was a great performance, though.”

There was no greater performance Friday than that of 5-foot, 11-inch senior guard Cory Orr who poured in 42 points, amassing 56 percent of the Trojans’ offense.

Friday’s contest was almost like two different games in one.

Troy has a tendency to start slow, like they’re warming up.

It was that way in the first quarter and then again in the third.

However, after they got rolling with 4:37 remaining in the first quarter to break a 7-7 tie, the Trojans stepped on the gas, rolling to a 21-8 lead at the end of the first quarter.

And, no one put their foot down on the accelerator quite like the twin Orr.

It wasn’t enough that Andersen sang Orr’s praises, but Eureka coach Chad Dunn did, too.

“What a great player. He’s an all-stater,” Dunn said of Cory Orr. “Seems there was just no stopping him.”

Didn’t appear so.

On this night, Orr was in a zone, a scoring zone.

He hit from his favorite spot from beyond the three-point stripe, which can best be described as a 45-degree angle between the corner and the top of the key.

Time and time again, the Trojans scored at will, and then — once a comfortable lead was established — seemed content to sit on its lead.

However, this team has the ability to crank it up again, seemingly at any point, as it did Friday when, with 6:25 remaining in the final stanza, when Ryan Holder dished off to a teammate underneath to trim the Trojans’ lead to five, 52-47.

However, that’s when Cory Orr stepped up to his favorite spot beyond the arc to hit a looping three-pointer that swished the net to re-establish Troy’s dominance in this game, as they continued to pour it on and cruised to the 15-point victory, setting the stage for the rematch with Bigfork on Saturday.

This Troy team proved its adaptability Saturday as it fell behind early — 8-0 — using a man-to-man defense in favor of a zone protection, and it worked as they eliminated a 14-6 first-quarter deficit to break even at halftime at 18-all.

The Trojans’ strategy held the Vikings to just four second-quarter points.

The rest of the way, it was almost a basket-for-basket match, with no team getting ahead by more than three points the second half.

 In the end, it was Troy’s ability to alter its defense that was the difference in this one, as it outlasted the Vikings.

Troy advanced to the Divisional Tournament in Hamilton on Wednesday.