Lions turn tables on Trojans, 36-32
Troy junior Tyler Gromley looks back to watch his first basket of the game go in, Feb. 9, against Eureka. (Ben Kibbey/The Western News)
By BENJAMIN KIBBEY
The Western News
At the end of the first half of the Troy High School boys basketball game against Lincoln County High School on Friday, a loss for the Trojans seemed unlikely.
With the Trojans out front of the Lions 24-11, Eureka would need to emerge from the locker room and completely switch rolls with Troy in order to make a comeback. And that is just what they did.
The Lions defense held the Trojans down to 4 points during the third quarter. In the first six minutes, while Troy’s score held unchanged, Eureka almost doubled theirs.
At the start of the final quarter, Eureka had narrowed the Troy lead to a single point.
The Trojan offense began to come back to life as the quarter heated up, and their defense slowed the Lions’ advance. Still, the Lions crept into the lead halfway into the quarter, and they stayed there.
The single Troy field goal of the quarter came from junior Dylan Cummings with about a minute left in the game. He cut the Eureka lead back to a close 34-32.
Yet, with multiple fouls called on the Trojans, there was little opportunity for a comeback, and the Lions’ Quade Anderson sealed the final score with only seconds left in the game.
Trojan Head Coach Bradley Dunn-meier said the team seemed to just stop being aggressive on offense in the second half.
“Defensively, I thought we played pretty well — we did cause a lot of turnovers on them — we just stopped being aggressive offensively,” he said.
Dunn-meier acknowledged that a 13- point lead at the half may have left the boys content in the third quarter.
“It really comes down to just not knowing how to handle the pressure at the end of the game, because they haven’t been in that position very often,” he said. “I think they just kind of struggle with how to handle that kind of pressure and make it work for them.”
Eureka 36, Troy 32
Eureka: 6 5 16 9 - 36
Troy: 8 16 4 4 - 32
Eureka: Austin Callendar 3 points, 1-6 FT; Quade Anderson 3 points, 3-7 FT; Colton Cooper 4 points, 2-2 FT; Alex Lowe 8 points, 0-6 FT; Jake Kindel 10 points, 2-3 FT; Corey Chaney 8 points, 0-1 FT
Troy: Trevor Hoagland 5 points, 0-2 FT; Dylan Cummings 8 points, 1-2 FT; AJ Faur 6 points; Tyler Gromley 4 points; Moxley Roesler-Begalke 5 points; Alex Freund 4 points, 4-6 F