Vikings take down Trojans, 76-22
Troy’s Tyler Gromley looks for an opening among the Bigfork defenders before scoring late in the third quarter Friday. (Ben Kibbey/The Western News)
WIth the Vikings close on his heals, Trojan Trevor Hoagland breaks away to score halfway through the second quarter Friday. (Ben Kibbey/The Western News)
By BENJAMIN KIBBEY
The Western News
The Troy High School boys basketball team’s defeat Friday at the hands of Bigfork was not a surprise.
By the end of the first quarter, the physically and numerically larger team already had a 20 point lead.
Yet, it was still an improvement over the last time the Trojans faced the Vikings, and Troy Head Coach Bradley Dunn-meier was proud of the effort he saw from his team, he said.
“Last time we scored six points, and this time we scored 22,” he said. “We’ve just got to get more aggressive. You can tell how strong they are compared to our kids, so, no matter how much we get pushed around, that’s something we’re going to have to work on throughout.”
Dunn-meier said there is room for the team to grow both offensively and defensively, but was pleased with the progress his defense has made.
“I think we’re playing better,” he said. “We’re trying to get the kids up in their faces a little bit more.”
In the first six minutes of the game, Bigfork’s Beau Santisteven scored 14 points by himself, but there was a noticeable moment in the game when the Trojans started trying to shut the 6 foot 6 inch player down. He only scored twice more the rest of the game.
“We’re still not jumping to the ball very well, so if a guy through the lane, we’re not reacting, so we’re getting behind him instead of in front of him,” Dunn-meier said.
Dunn-meier compared the Bigfork screens to hitting a brick wall for his players.
“Our kids just bounce off,” he said. “We have to get stronger, but also just more aggressive, because we let them push us around.”
Dunn-meier is in his first year coaching, and said he hopes to build more of an offseason program, as well as getting his players into the weight room and building up their physical strength.
Bigfork 76, Troy 22
Bigfork: 29 22 11 14 — 76
Troy: 9 3 2 8 — 22
Bigfork: Anders Epperly 9 points; Clayton Reichenbach 11 points, 0-1 FT; Colton Reichenbach 6 points, 2-2 FT; Luke Schmit 2 points; Luke Taylor 2 points; Logan Taylor 11 points, 3-4 FT; Chase Chappins 5 points, 2-4 FT; Eli Hines 2 points; Brady Thorness 4 points; Logan Guilhard 6 points; Beau Santisteven 18 points, 2-2 FT
Troy: Trevor Hoagland 2 points; Ricki Fisher 1 points, 1-2 FT; Jaymin Stever 2 points; Logan Milde 2 points; Dylan Cummings 5 points; Hunter Leighty 2 points, 0-1 FT; Tyler Gromley 6 points, 2-4 FT; Moxley Roesler-Begalke 2 points