For The Tribune
Heading into their final performance of the season, with five seniors on Senior Night, the Trinity Lutheran boys basketball team hoped for a solid win before sectional against visiting Rising Sun.
The Cougars did just that, as they came away with a 68-48 win Friday.
Senior Toby VanLiew scored the first seven points for his team and when Daniel Horton hit the first of two three-pointers at the 3:59 mark to give the Cougars a 10-2.
Horton’s second three-pointer made it 15-2 in Trinity’s favor.
In the second quarter, Trinity gave up seventeen points, and VanLiew picked up his third foul.
However, Horton started working inside while senior Jacob Christopher added two three-pointers. Horton’s second inside bucket put Trinity up 35-18 in the second quarter.
Horton contributed 15 points in the first half, and his team led 37-22 at the intermission.
Rising Sun hit their first two baskets at the start of the second half, and pulled within eleven points at 37-26.
However, that was the closest Rising Sun would get the rest of the way.
At 1:40 in the third quarter Christopher hit a trey and stole the ball seconds later to make it 51-33 Cougars.
The fourth quarter showed balanced scoring and Trinity finished with a 68-48 win.
“I was glad to see the seniors leave after four years with a win,” Cougars coach Aaron Rudzinski. “I though we executed well, I thought we played a good first quarter, the second quarter we got a little lax. We took some things for granted. They scored a little too much for my liking, but overall I thought we did a nice job and executed enough to win”.
Christopher and Horton shared high scoring honors with 17 points each.
With the postseason at hand, the Cougars enter with a draw in the first round.
On Friday, the Cougars will play the winner of Crothersville and West Washington in the semifinals of the Orleans sectional.