Trojans oust Smoky Valley
BY RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
Trojan head coach Darrell Knoll looked worried after what he was witnessing from his team in Saturday night's first half of the championship game in the Trojan Classic against the pesky Smoky Valley Vikings.
In 12 games, the Trojans have looked ragged at times against their opponents.
But Hillsboro played as poor a half as Knoll had seen yet this year, Saturday night.
The Trojans got antsy, resorting to making distasteful decisions, just barely moving the basketball.
As a result, the Vikings had the Trojans on the ropes through the first half.
Luckily for Hillsboro, there was still one more half left to play.
The second half proved to be redemption for the Trojans as they overcome adversity to capture the Trojan Classic title with a 51-40 win over the Vikings.
Hillsboro stays perfect on the season at 13-0 and 6-0 in the MCAA league.
The Vikings were another team that bothered Knoll.
"They're playing some good basketball," he said. "The thing about them is that they play so tremendously hard. If you're not ready to play as hard as they are, they're going to beat you."
Hillsboro nearly found that out the hard way.
After Adam Woods drove inside for the game's first score just over :30 seconds into the game, the Trojans gambled with their perimeter shooting all the way to intermission.
The shots didn't fall as the Vikings harassed Hillsboro into missing its next eight tries after the Woods' basket in the paint.
It looked grim for the Trojans after the first quarter, shooting a putrid 3 of 16 from the field while trailing 15-8.
Hillsboro's shooting never caught fire in the first half. For better than 5:00 of the first half, the Trojans were searching for a way to get a shot to fall.
They were playing from behind all through the third quarter, too.
The Trojans got as close as six three times in the second quarter, but the Vikings had an answer for every basket.
Smoky Valley had Knoll riled up at halftime, up 25-17 and shooting 40 percent from the floor.
"I wasn't (calm) the first half because I didn't feel like we were doing the way I wanted it done," he said. "We weren't executing anything."
In the three Classic games, the second half has been the Trojans' life preserver.
It was once again for the final time with baskets by Ross Duerksen and Tyler Weinbrenner whittling the Vikings' lead to 25-22, 1:15 into the second half.
Knoll has gotten some big minutes out of key reserve Tyler Peachey, and the multi-purpose sophomore produced again to keep the Trojans in striking distance.
Peachey scored four of his 11 points as part of a 6-0 run in the third quarter which pulled the Trojans to within 29-28 with 2:47 left.
And Knoll looked more at ease.
Five straight points from Layne Frick, and Hillsboro had pulled even at 33-33, heading into the final stretch.
Holding Andy Brubacher to two points at the start of the fourth quarter, the Vikings couldn't keep the Trojans' junior guard quiet any longer.
Both of the Trojans' two fourth quarter field goals came courtesy of Brubacher, and Hillsboro had its first lead of the game at the 7:27 mark, 35-33.
The free throw line has been an enemy for Knoll's teams in the past.
A poor shooting performance at the line helped ruin his bid at a fourth state championship and undefeated season in 1999.
Brubacher, Peachey, Weinbrenner and Shawn Hughbanks all saw to it that wouldn't be a factor in Saturday night's fourth quarter.
The quartet hit a near-flawless 11-for-12 in crunch time to help earn the Trojans their sixth Classic crown with Brubacher hitting a perfect 6 of 6 to eventually finish with a team-high 13 points.
By the time Darrin Hopp scored the Vikings first basket in more than 4:00, Brubacher had pushed the Trojans' lead to 38-35.
"Andy hit his free throws and made good decisions on offense," said Knoll. "He played good defense on Ferguson (Keith). I thought we really did everything right in the fourth quarter."
Smoky Valley's shooting had cooled down to 6-for-20 in the second half, allowing Hillsboro to keep stretching its lead from the line.
The free throw line was a lethal weapon for the Trojans where they hit 16 of 20 for 80 percent.
"I thought the second half we played a little better," Knoll said. "It was one of those games where I felt fortunate that we played a good second half rather than a good first half."
The Trojans get a much-needed rest this week before returning to action Jan. 29 at Haven.
Thomas More Prep
For the first time in two consecutive nights, the Trojans had to overcome an ugly first half against a very good Thomas More Prep Monarch team in Friday's semifinals of the Trojan Classic.
In a game loaded with whistles and questionable calls, Hillsboro topped the Monarchs, 57-53, to advance to the championship game against the Vikings.
The Trojans blew a 24-14 first quarter lead after a 16-2 second quarter by the Monarchs left them in front at halftime, 30-26.
Exploiting Hillsboro's struggle guarding the five spot, the Monarchs got the ball inside to 6-foot 5-inch Tyler Kippes for high percentage shots.
Kippes made the Trojans pay, pouring in a game-high 23 points to pace the Monarchs' hot 53 percent from the field.
Just like it did the next night, Hillsboro's second half saved the day.
After a 14-9 third quarter put Hillsboro ahead 40-39 to start the fourth, the teams juggled the lead three times in the closing 2:52.
Down 53-52 with :24 seconds left in the game, Hillsboro kicked an offensive rebound out to Weinbrenner.
He calmly drained a jump shot with :04 seconds left to give the Trojans the lead for good, his 15th of a team-high 16 points.
The excitement was still not over though.
Having already used up all of its timeouts, TMP tried to call for one with :02 left and the Monarchs were hit with a technical foul.
Weinbrenner drained 1 of 2 at the free throw line before Brubacher got a fast break just before the buzzer to put the finishing touches on his 11 point game.
Hillsboro also got a 10-point lift off the bench from Hughbanks.
Hillsboro 51, Smoky Valley 40
SV — 15 10 8 7 40
Hillsboro — 8 9 16 18 51
Smoky Valley — Ferguson 2, Jared Jones 4, Mark Sandbo 1, Hopp 12, Matt Swift 9, Ky Swisher 2, Brandon Krinhop 6, Matt Dominguez 2, Luke Olsen 2, Totals 16-38 1-9 5-7 40.
Hillsboro — Brubacher 13, Weinbrenner 6, Frick 7, Dustin Jost 2, Duerksen 3, Peachey 11, Woods 6, Hughbanks 3, Totals 13-32 3-10 16-20 51.
