Tri-Central comes up short at Rossville, cruises past APA
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Tri-Central’s high school boys basketball team started the weekend off on a down note but ended it on an up note.
On Friday night, the Trojans dropped a Hoosier Heartland Conference contest at Rossville, 52-37. But the Trojans bounced back on Saturday night and left Anderson Prep Academy with a 67-27 victory over the Jets.
Tri-Central (7-6, 3-1 HHC) hosts Class 2A No. 5 Carroll (11-0, 3-0 HHC) in a girls-boys doubleheader on Friday night.
ROSSVILLE 52, TRI-CENTRAL 37
The game started out as a defensive battle with the Trojans owning a slim 5-4 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Hornets, however, got their offensive going in the second quarter, outscoring TC 17-3 to take a 21-8 lead into halftime.
The Trojans offensive finally caught fire in the third quarter, putting up 21 points. But the Hornets (8-6, 2-2 HHC) managed 16 of their own and held a 37-29 advantage entering the fourth quarter. Rossville, however, did not let Tri-Central get close in the final minutes, outscoring the Trojans 15-8 in the final period to claim the 15-point victory.
A key to the Hornets’ success was containing TC senior Jake Chapman, who entered the contest averaging 25-plus points a game. He finished with just seven points on 3-of-12 shooting from the field. He did not get to the free-throw line. Chapman did have team-highs of nine rebounds, five assists and five steals.
The Trojans did not have a double-figure scorer as Landon Grant paced TC with nine points and added three rebounds. Jace Cassity was Tri-Central’s best shooter of the night, knocking down 4 of 6 field goals to score eight points, and he also grabbed three rebounds. Caden Leininger also had eight points and dished out two assists. Luke Martin rounded out TC’s scoring with five points.
Tri-Central did not shoot well as a team, converting just 34% of its shots (14 of 41). They were 24% (5 of 21) from 3-point range and 4 of 6 at the charity stripe. The Trojans were outrebounded 27-21 and committed four more turnovers (15-11) than the Hornets.
Rossville shot just 41% (19 of 46) from the field, that included 28% (5 of 13) from 3-point range, and knocked down 9 of 12 free throws.
CJ Geheb and Austin Bray led the Hornets with 12 and 10 points, respectively.
TRI-CENTRAL 67, APA 27
Unlike Friday night, the Trojans had no trouble cranking up the offense early, storming out to a 32-7 lead over the winless Jets (0-10).
Grant ignited the TC offense, draining all four of his 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes. He also had a two-point field goal. Chapman added seven points, Martin six and Cassity was 2 of 2 at the line.
TC’s offense was not quite as explosive the rest of the game, but the Trojans outscored APA 15-9 in the second quarter to take a commanding 47-16 lead into halftime. The Trojans doubled up the Jets (10-5) in the third quarter to stretch their advantage to 57-21 entering the fourth quarter.
Chapman, who was 7 of 13 from the field and 10 of 11 at the line, finished with a double-double of 24 points and 10 rebounds to lead everyone. He also had four assists.
Grant and Martin also finished in double figures for TC, finishing with 15 and 14 points. Martin also had six rebounds and two assists. Cassity added seven points, eight rebounds and three assists, and Leininger chipped in six points, three rebounds, four assists and three steals. Colby Wyrick rounded out the scoring with a free throw.
TC shot 51% from the field (33-43), including 46% from beyond the arc (6 of 13) and netted 17 of 23 free throws. The Trojans dominated the boards 28-19 and had just nine turnovers, while forcing 18.
TC won jayvee game 50-47.