Trojans win nail-biter over Sunrise Academy
By RYAN RICHTER
Sports writer
One thing is for sure. Trojan coach Darrell Knoll wasn't whistling "Dixie" Tuesday night when he said Sunrise Academy was fired up to play his team.
The Trojans looked dull in their first round game of the 10th annual Trojan Classic, turning the ball over numerous times against the determined Buffaloes (7-6), and hitting just one of 11 field goal attempts.
Still, (9-1) Hillsboro kept its Classic title hopes, surviving a nail-biter, 49-43.
"I thought we were sluggish in the way we moved," Knoll said. "We just didn't get where we needed to be. Usually we get to the high post hard and we pass the ball sharp in there and square up strong.
"Tonight, it just seemed like we'd get where we needed to be, but it wasn't as sharp. We weren't sharp, and that's not the way we normally are in the zone offense."
After missing its first seven of 13 field goals to start the game, Sunrise trimmed a 14-4 lead to 14-9 with a 9-5 run to close the first quarter.
All 14 of Hillsboro's points came from the duo of Caleb Marsh and Kyle Jilka, who combined for 25.
Marsh canned four threes on his way to a game-high 14 points while Jilka scored a season-high 11.
Instead of making field goals the second quarter, the Trojans turned the ball over six times to help Sunrise stick around at the break, down 26-19.
Had it not been for Toby Berg, the Trojans would have trailed much sooner in the third quarter.
Berg had a huge presence off the bench, scoring all six of his season-high points in the second quarter while pulling down some key rebounds.
Eric Weinbrenner added 11 points in the win, scoring the Trojans' only basket of the third quarter with a triple.
The Buffaloes used an 11-3 run in the third quarter to finally go up, 30-29, with 1:44 left in the frame.
"You have to give Sunrise credit," said Knoll. "They played an extremely hard game, and they are an excellent team. They've got good depth, they play extremely hard and they wanted to play us. It's like a state championship game to them."
That "state championship" stayed within the Buffaloes' range throughout most of the last stretch.
Jilka put the Trojans on top once again just inside 8:00, but Sunrise tied the game twice before eclipsing the lead for the final time courtesy of a near 3:00 Hillsboro scoring lapse.
A Marsh triple with 4:09 to go put Hillsboro in the driver's seat for the win.
The sun finally set on Sunrise with 19 seconds left after Weinbrenner sank two free-throws to make it a two-possession game for the Buffaloes.
Hitting 6-for-10 from the line in the final 1:30 stretched out the Trojans' lead.
Hillsboro plays its second game of the Classic at 7:30 p.m. Friday against third-seeded Thomas More Prep, a 68-63 victor over the Buffaloes Monday.
"The great thing is we were able to play through this game and get the win," Knoll said. "We're going to be a little sharper for it (TMP game)."
Halstead
The Trojans ran their MCAA record to 5-1 Friday, running away from visiting Halstead in the first quarter for a 62-46 win.
Caleb Marsh's biggest battle on the court has been with consistency.
Arguably the best defender for the Trojans, Marsh has shown he can put up the numbers scoring, too.
He did it again Friday, burning the Dragons for a game-high 18 points from 4-of-7 from the field and 2-for-3 from downtown.
Marsh alone matched Halstead's first quarter scoring with Hillsboro racing to a 17-6 lead.
Even with Jordan Regehr, Halstead never posed a true threat, failing to get within a double-digit deficit.
The Dragons' main problem was with Hillsboro's perimeter defense, holding Halstead to 0-for-13 from long range.
They did all their damage inside, shooting 49 percent on the night.
Aided by Derek Hamm's game-high 10 rebounds to go along with eight points, Halstead's misses were instrumental in helping Hillsboro win the rebounding battle, 35-31.
Scoring 16 points, including 6-for-7 at the free-throw line, Tyler Peachey pulled down eight rebounds.
Daniel Deckert supplied Hillsboro with 13 more points to round out the double-digit scorers.
Holding Halstead to 6-for-22 shooting through the first half, the Trojans had a commanding 36-21 lead at intermission.
The Dragons ended the game connecting on 35 percent of their shots while Hillsboro shot 38.
