Trinity Lutheran’s boys basketball team overcame what coach Ryan Crase said he felt was a sluggish start by his ball club to hand sectional opponent Medora an 80-39 loss Friday night in the Bollinger Athletic Complex.
“I thought we started out kind of slow for what I thought we were going to, but as the game went on, we definitely picked up the intensity,” Crase said.
The Cougars (4-10) led this one all the way as Jacob Sabotin opened the scoring with a 3-pointer, and a layup by Jack Marksberry put the home team up 8-0 at the 5:43 mark.
A basket by Hudson Norton stretched the Cougars’ lead to 16-3 before the Hornets’ offense warmed up with an 8-3 run over the final two minutes of the opening period. Shepard Earl had a hot hand as he scored Medora’s final six points of the period and led his team with 19 points for the night.
The Hornets’ offense suffered in the second and third periods, committing 14 turnovers during that time.
That enabled the Cougars to build a 45-17 halftime lead and score the first 17 points of the third period for a 62-17 cushion before Braxton McCory hit a 3-pointer with 2:50 left in the third period for the Hornets. The Cougars held a 73-29 lead going into the fourth period.
They scored a season high as they committed only three turnovers during the first three periods.
“I think our starters did a really good job of handling the ball,” Crase said. “We had a few more turnovers (three) in the fourth quarter when we put some of the reserves in. Overall, it was a really good effort, and I thought the intensity stepped up. We didn’t turn it over, we started making some shots and it was a pretty good second half. We’re trying to hit our stride at the right time.”
Tyler Goecker made three of the 11 3-pointers the Cougars had and led his team with 19 points.
Norton, who reached double figures in scoring (18) for the eighth game in a row, said he likes the way his team is playing.
“We’re definitely showing chemistry in practice,” he said. “We’re doing a lot of chemistry drills, and we go out to eat together every once in a while. It helps tremendously in games. We have a lot of communication on the floor, good defense so we can get in the right positions. I’d say that definitely leads to success.”
The Cougars held a 25-21 advantage in rebounds with Mitchell Hackman high with seven to go along with 16 points. Earl had 10 rebounds for Medora.
“We need to do a lot of work on rebounds because in the Brownstown game, we didn’t do the best job we could,” Norton said. “We’ve been putting in a lot of work on rebounds in practice, and the coach has been good about that.”
Medora coach Mark Morin said his team played well at times.
Trinity shot 31-for-61, and Medora shot 17-for-39.
“They can shoot the ball,” he said. “We can’t play man against them. We had stretches where we played. We didn’t quit. We kept playing, and that’s hard to do when you’re getting beat a bunch. Every game, we see glimpses of good play. We can’t sustain it. Part of it is our age, I guess.”
Morin started four sophomores and one senior.
David Persinger, the only senior for the Hornets, scored 10 points.
“You can’t really tell by the score, but we have improved,” Morin said. “Our main goal is to keep getting better. Maybe we’ll catch up with somebody if we keep getting better.”
The Hornets (2-9) will continue their weekend tour of Jackson County tonight with a stop at Crothersville.
Box score
At Seymour
Trinity Lutheran 80, Medora 39
Medora;11;6;12;10;—;39
Trinity Lutheran;5;13;10;16;—;44
Trinity Lutheran (4-10): Hudson Norton 8 0-0 18, Tyler Goecker 7 2-3 19, Jack Marskberry 3 1-2 8, Jacob Sabotin 2 1-2 7, Mitchell Hackman 6 2-4 16, Lawson Woods 1 0-0 2, Sage Broughton 2 0-0 5, Evan Hunt 1 0-0 2, Kade Hill 1 1-2 3, Caleb Williams 0 0-0 0, Charlie Hackman 0 0-0 0, Peyton Pollert 0 0-1 0. Totals: 31 7-13 80.
Medora (2-9): Braxton McCrory 2 2-2 8, David Persinger 5 0-0 10, Shepard Earl 9 1-3 19, Eli Sturgill 0 0-0 0, Mariah Cobb 0 0-0 0, Jayden Brown 0 0-0 0, Wesley Holstein 1 0-0 2, Kacie Inscoe 0 0-0 0, Jenna Bowers 0 0-0 0, Matt Inscoe 0 0-0 0, Zach Cobb 0 0-0 0. Totals: 17 3-7 39.
3-point goals: TL (Goecker 3, M. Hackman 2, Norton 2, Sabotin 2, Marksberry, Broughton), M (McCory)
Rebounds: TL 25 (M. Hackman 7, Norton 4), M 21 (Earl 10, Sturgill 4)
Turnovers: TL 6, M 19
Fouls: TL 12, M 13
Junior varsity
Trinity Lutheran 69, Medora 22
Trinity Lutheran: Hill 12, C. Hackman 12, Eli Ballard 11, Evan Hunt 10, Caleb Williams 8, Levi Pottschmidt 9, Peyton Pollert 4, Andrew Bell, Nathan Voelker 3, Kowan Gross 2, Levi Froedge 2, Kowan Gross 2, Hunt 2
Medora: Bowers 7, M. Cobb 5, Z. Cobb 3, Sturgill 3, Aaralyn Hackney 2, Kacie Inscoe 2