Trojans make it 8-of-9, eye Eureka in playoffs; girls lose two
Six Trojan seniors closed their regular-season basketball careers on a winning note Saturday at home, beating Mission 64-61.
The Trojans (4-4, 11-7) closed the first quarter on a 12-2 run that included three consecutive three-pointers, the last an uncalled bank shot from straight on by senior guard Gabe Hickman with 20 seconds to go. After making the shot, Hickman tossed his hands in the air in disbelief, reminiscent of Michael Jordan after making his sixth first-half three against Portland in Game 1 of the 1992 NBA Finals.
A Gage Tallmadge layup at the buzzer gave Troy a 33-29 lead at half. The momentum carried into the start of the third quarter as a 10-3 run put Troy in command.
The Trojans entered the fourth quarter with a 55-45 lead, but struggled to close. Mission (6-12) edged Troy in a fourth-quarter free- throw contest, and a five-second call against Troy, with Coach Cory Andersen pleading for a timeout, gave Mission the ball with 25 seconds left down two. But the Trojans got a stop and the Bulldogs were unable to get a shot off after Hickman missed his second free throw with two seconds remaining.
The Trojans travel Thursday to Eureka for the first round of the District 7-B tournament. Troy has won eight of its last nine games.
Hickman led all scorers with 23 points. Tallmadge scored 15 and sophomore post Sean Opland scored 14. Aaron Fisher led Mission with 21 points.
Seniors Erich Tallmadge and Ryan Huffman both started for the Trojans.
TROY: 21 12 20 11 — 64
MISSION: 14 15 16 16 — 61
Troy 54, Eureka 51: At Eureka (5-3, 9-9), the Trojans came from behind Friday to beat the Lions.
“We were down 10 or 11 points in the third,” Andersen said. “We switched our defense and made better decisions.”
Opland led all scorers with 20 points. Hickman added 19 and Eureka’s Trey Bohne led the Lions with 18 points.
After splitting the regular season series with the Lions, what do the Trojans need to do to win Thursday’s playoff game?
“We need to play a complete game,” Andersen said. “Our offense feeds off of our defense. If we can rebound I am confident we can win.”
TROY: 10 12 17 15 — 54
EUREKA: 12 14 15 10— 51
Mission 34, Troy 30: At Troy, the Lady Trojans (0-8, 2-16) had their chances but could not get the bounces at the end.
Mission (2-16) jumped out to a 10-3 first-quarter lead it never lost. Troy closed on a 7-1 run.
Makaylin Randall, whose plan of becoming an international attorney for the United Nations was announced during pregame Senior Night ceremonies, led Troy with eight points. Mission senior Courtney Charlo’s diverse array of post moves helped her lead all scorers with 14 points.
MISSION: 10 11 8 5 — 34
TROY: 6 9 8 7 — 30
Eureka 51, Troy 32: At Eureka (2-6, 4-14), more slow starts plagued the Lady Trojans. Troy dropped the first quarter 11-4 and a 19-6 third quarter put the game out of reach.
The Lady Trojans will return to Eureka for the District 7-B play-in game Thursday.
RONAN: 4 12 6 10 — 32
EUREKA: 11 11 19 10 — 51