Eureka Lions pounce on Troy Trojans

The Troy Trojans faced the headwaters in more ways than one during a Feb. 12 road loss to the Eureka Lions.

After all, they traveled up alongside the Kootenai River to face the cross-county rivals. And for Troy, trying to beat the Lions was like swimming upstream.

The first quarter saw Troy’s Michael Foote knocking down two three-pointers and Paxton Fisher hitting one of his own. Eureka’s Gavin Bates had 10 first quarter points, though, and the Lions led the Trojans 17-9.

“Eureka shot the lights out,” said Troy coach Justin Young. “They beat us by more points when we played them in Troy. But I thought they played better [on Saturday].”

The Lions turned up the heat in the second quarter. Eureka’s squad outscored their Troy counterparts 25-3. By halftime, the Lions led 42-12.

The second half saw Eureka continue to build its lead. Subbing players from the game’s start, the Lions’ scorebook featured 10 players. The Trojans had just three.

The final score: Eureka 76, Troy 27.

“Our kids got a little tired,” Young said. “We’re a bit short on the bench right now.”

He noted that Eureka plays on a college style court, which is 20 feet longer than the Trojans are used to. It takes time to readjust, Young said.

“Your spatial awareness on this size of court takes some time to kick in,” he said.

Fisher scored 13 points on the night while Foote came away with eight. Trevor Grant netted five.

With the regular season over for Troy, tournament play begins. Troy travels to Bigfork, where they will take on the Thompson Falls Blue Hawks on Feb. 18.

“We’ll look at the district tournament as a second season,” Young said. “Hope to come in healthy and hungry. We need to put a full game together.”