HILLSBORO: Trojans survive Teuton scare, take Classic
Hillsboro boys claim Trojan Classic title, hold off Inman 37-32
BY RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Trojan boys' coach Darrell Knoll sounded earnest saying that his team would have to have enough left to stop Inman in Saturday's final game of the Trojan Classic in Hillsboro.
That was after Hillsboro rallied from a 19-13 first quarter deficit to upend Thomas-More Prep, 73-64, in Friday's semifinal game.
"We're going to have to," Knoll said of his team having enough to win the Classic. "Inman is really good, and I've been impressed with them in both games that I've watched them. We're going to have to come to play."
That, they did for about the first 8:00, racing to a quick 18-6 lead after the first quarter.
The other 24:00 left many wondering if Hillsboro used up all its magic against TMP as the Teutons gave Hillsboro all it wanted.
The Trojans, despite three ragged quarters of atrocious shooting, still had just enough to hold off Inman, 37-32, to claim the Trojan Classic title.
"I thought Inman played really hard," said a relieved Knoll. "I thought we didn't play like we had our legs tonight.
"As a result, offensively we struggled shooting the ball. The first quarter we were sharp was the only quarter we were sharp."
The Trojans opened the game making four of its first five shots to take a 7-2 lead, barely 3:00 in.
Tyler Weinbrenner finished with a game-high 13 points, seven coming as part of the Trojans' 18-6 eruption in the first quarter.
All the doors to the Robert C. Brown Gymnasium were closed and the air conditioner was off.
But an arctic blast blanketed both teams as neither could muster a field goal for a lengthy stretch in the game.
After shooting six of 13 from the floor in the first quarter, Hillsboro dipped to two for 13 and tying a season-low 31 percent for the game.
And the Teutons clawed their way back into the game with a 15-6 second quarter, missing just four of their nine shots.
Andy Brubacher's leadership kept the Trojans' boat from capsizing when it had the potential to. His eight points for the game came at key times.
One of his two threes ended a near 3:00 scoring lapse for the Trojans at the 5:30 mark in the second quarter.
"I thought Andy played a really solid game tonight," said Knoll. "I don't know what he did in terms of scoring or assists, but I thought in terms of just keeping us together, making some plays was spunk for us."
Once trailing by 12, Inman's deficit shrunk to 22-21 with a Matt Fuqua field goal at the 1:36 mark.
Weinbrenner sent the Trojans into intermission up 24-21 with a basket which just beat the buzzer.
Somebody must have cranked the air conditioner to full blast during halftime.
Hillsboro would have been lucky finding a basket at the Arts and Crafts Fair, going the first 5:30 of the second half without a field goal.
Inman had its first of two leads, 25-24, by the time Tyler Peachey ended the drought with just under 2:30 left in the third.
But the Teutons fared no better than Hillsboro in shooting the second half. For the game, they did, posting 33 percent from the floor on 11 for 33.
The two teams combined to hit a scant seven field goals and so frigid was the shooting, the biggest run either team could muster was no bigger than four points.
It was Dustin Jost who supplied the heroics for the Trojans.
Down 27-26 in the waning moments of the third quarter, Jost drained a buzzer-beating three to give Hillsboro the lead for good.
The fourth quarter for Inman began nearly the same way the third did for Hillsboro.
The Teutons went scoreless until there was 3:10 left in the game.
Then, Hillsboro had stretched its lead to 33-28 after Weinbrenner made two of three from the free throw line.
With both teams enduring a shooting slump, the Trojans, not wanting to risk any chances turning the ball over, resorted to the four-corners offensive set to run out the clock.
"I was pleased that we were patient enough to run the four corner at the end," said Knoll. "We were struggling so bad when we had the five-point lead I thought if we could run time and win it at the foul line, we're usually pretty good in these situations. Fortunately, we ran enough
"It was a good win. It's good to win a game when we really struggled. Inman is a really good team."
In attempt to conserve time, the Teutons sent Weinbrenner to the foul line twice in the closing :30.
He drove the nail into the Teutons' coffin with :24 left, making it a two-possession game.
The 10-2 Trojans return to action Feb. 4 when they travel to Nickerson for a showdown with the Panthers.
TMP
The 2003 Trojan Classic had its share of thrillers.
The third place game between the Belleville Buffaloes and TMP Monarchs, even the fifth place game was good between Sunrise Academy and Marion.
Arguably one of the most exciting games came in Friday's semifinals between the Trojans and the Monarchs.
Down 19-13 to start the second quarter, the Trojans used balanced in scoring to rally furiously with a 25-14 run which proved to be the difference in the game.
Peachey turned in a scintillating performance with a double-double game-high 19 points and 12 rebounds with seven offensively.
Steve Chisholm scored a season-high 17 points with Weinbrenner, too, finishing with 17 to highlight the Trojans' season-high 62 percent from the field.
Abilene
The Trojans completed their short week Tuesday night against the hosting Abilene Cowboys.
Weinbrenner scored a team-high 17 points to help Hillsboro shoot down the Cowboys in their first-ever meeting, 61-38.
Up 13-9 after the first quarter, the Trojans pushed their lead to 30-13 by halftime.
Andy Brubacher scored 12 points and pulled down a team-high 6 rebounds and Chisholm followed with 10 points.
HILLSBORO 61, ABILENE 38
Hillsboro — 13 17 16 15 61
Abilene — 9 4 9 16 38
Total points — Eric Weinbrenner 2, Brubacher 12, T. Weinbrenner 17, Jost 6, Caleb Marsh 6, Chisholm 10, Peachey 8. Totals — 26-46 3-14 0-3 61.
Rebounds — Brubacher 6, Peachey 5, Marsh 4, Chisholm 4, Alan Yoder 3, Hughbanks 3, Kyle Jilka 2, Jost 1, T. Weinbrenner 1, Derek Hamm 1.
Steals — Jost 9, T. Weinbrenner 3, Brubacher 3, Peachey 2, Hughbanks 1, Daniel Deckert 1, Chisholm 1, Marsh 1.
Assists — Brubacher 5, T. Weinbrenner 5, Jost 3, Chisholm 2, Marsh 1, Hughbanks 1.
