A Lathan Croy three-point shot just before the first quarter horn set the tone in the opening minutes, and Trenton’s Bulldogs played with swagger and confidence in completing the home portion of the 2017-2018 season with a 68-64 win over the visiting Penney Hornets, broadcast on KTTN FM 92.3 on Thursday night.
Croy’s three pointer completed a scintillating 27-24 quarter that saw the Bulldogs trail early, but rally to take the lead over the favored Hornets after eight minutes of play. Tom Johnson had the play-by-play call:
While Trenton enjoyed a slight lead, the Hornets kept the game tight throughout a low-scoring second quarter, as Hamilton was able to shave one point from the Bulldogs advantage, sitting at 35-33 at the half.
The third quarter brought more back-and-forth action, with Croy hitting a pair of three-balls, while Penney senior LaTroy Harper added 7 points to his total, as THS led 52-49 after three.
Senior point guard Hunter Dugan gave the Bulldogs breathing room as the game reached the middle stages of the final quarter:
With the KCI Conference’s Hornets keeping pressure on Trenton in the game’s waning moments, Dylan Harris hit four consecutive free throws to help ice the upset win.
Lathan Croy finished with 24 points to lead the Bulldogs, with fellow senior Kade Ockenfels scoring 11. Carson Burchett had nine points, all in the first half.
Head Coach Jeremy Austin saluted his four-member senior group for their hard-earned victory:
Hamilton had a shot to tie the game in the waning seconds of regulation, but Lathan Croy took a charge against the driving Harper with the Hornets down by two, with a pair of Dylan Harris free throws setting off a court-storming celebration by the THS Student Section:
The loss drops Penney to 16-8 on the season, while Trenton rises to 15-11. LaTroy Harper had a game-high 30 points for the Hornets, with Cale Whitt adding 18 in the defeat.
Down two starters in the girl’s contest between the rival Lady Bulldogs, the Penney Lady Hornets looked to have an uphill climb against a high-powered squad with a Grand River Conference championship, in addition to titles from the Gallatin, Hamilton, and Lawson Tournaments, a third-place ranking in Class 3, and a program best record of 23-1, with two head-to-head wins against Hamilton already on their resume.
With starters Tegan Bruce and Kassie Moore missing the game due to illness, the Lady Hornets put up a strong fight against Trenton, but the overall floor balance, combined with a strong shooting night from the Trenton program’s dynamic junior class, led the Lady Bulldogs to a 70-57 Senior Night victory.
Penney sophomore guard Nora Ford gave a glimpse to the fans in attendance of her level of play early, hitting a three-pointer in the first minute of the game that gave Hamilton a 3-0 lead, and sent a barrage of teddy bears onto the court, as part of the “Teddy Bear Toss” promotion by Trenton High School. Down 5-2 two possessions later, Trenton’s Ashten Whitaker gave herself a Senior Night memory to tie the game at 5.
Trenton, using its best perimeter shooting quarter in many weeks, was able to extend a late-first quarter lead behind the marksmanship of junior Salem Croy:
Trenton dominated the second quarter to the tune of 19-9, with Mykah Hurley scoring eight points to finish up a brilliant 16 point half that included four three-pointers. Trenton started strong in the second half, pushing the lead to 20 early in the third quarter, but a Hornet run led by Ford, who scored 11 points in the quarter, pulled the Penney side back to down 14 at the end of the quarter.
With Penney remaining pesky in the second half, the Lady Hornets had cut the lead down to 11 before Trenton’s back-court of Ainsley Tolson and Mykah Hurley made back-to-back plays to throw a wrench into Hamilton’s comeback plans:
Head Coach Brian Upton pointed out how consistent Trenton’s girls have been, in achieving a 24-1 record, good for the top regular season mark in program history:
Penney is 18-7 with the loss, as Trenton has given the young Hornet team three of those season defeats. With Trenton owning the top-seed and Hamilton seeded second, a fourth meeting in the District 16 final on Friday, February 23rd remains very possible. Nora Ford had a game-high 31 points, including seven three-point field goals for Hamilton. Trenton’s scoring was more balanced, with Hurley scoring 20, Croy 15, Maci Moore 13, and Tolson 12 points.
Other area scores from Thursday, February 15, 2018 were:
GIRLS:
Grundy County 87, Pattonsburg 34
Winston 42, Mercer 40
Worth County 61, South Harrison 23
Albany 42, Gilman City 20
East Harrison 53, Newtown-Harris 29
Hale 78, Tri-County 52
Stanberry 62, Gallatin 48
North Harrison 61, Milan 53
Braymer 54, Polo 42
Savannah 65, Maryville 63
North Shelby 57, Northwestern 50
Brashear 65, Novinger 44
Tina-Avalon 38, Linn County 10
BOYS:
Pattonsburg 80, Grundy County 34
Gilman City 55, Albany 47
Winston 32, Mercer 30
Worth County 59, South Harrison 45
Gallatin 63, Stanberry 55
East Harrison 73, Newtown-Harris 28
Milan 63, North Harrison 41
Braymer 65, Polo 51
Northwestern 59, North Shelby 49
Novinger 96, Brashear 40
