CAMPBELLSBURG
Tyler Goecker, senior guard on the Trinity Lutheran boys basketball team, wants Cougar fans to know, “We’re not done yet!”
That was his message Saturday night after the Cougars outscored host West Washington 21-9 in the fourth quarter to break open a tight game and win 57-41 for the school’s first sectional title in boys basketball since 2014.
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Click here to purchase photos from this galleryThat was almost a copy of Friday’s 72-63 win over Edinburgh when the Cougars outscored the Lancers 29-11 in the fourth quarter.
Those wins put the Cougars (12-13) into this Saturday’s Loogootee Regional against Class A No. 1 Barr-Reeve (25-2) at 10 a.m.
The Cougars presented coach Ryan Crase with a sectional title in his first season as head coach at Trinity.
“We just had the heart to finish it,” he said. “These seniors didn’t want to go home empty-handed, and they just battled all night long.”
After the Senators (12-11) scored the first two points of the fourth period, the Cougars went on a 10-0 run to hold a 46-34 lead on a rebound basket by Goecker with 4:30 remaining. The Senators couldn’t get closer than nine points the rest of the way.
Crase said Goecker and Jack Marksberry “played big, they made shots, they made stops and we just played our basketball.”
Marksberry shot 4-for-4, plus he made a free throw in the fourth quarter. He and Hudson Norton made back-to-back 3-pointers in a 90-second span that moved the score from 38-34 to 44-34 and brought some of the loudest cheers of the night from Trinity fans.
Marksberry topped the Cougars overall with 14 points, Goecker had 12 points and 10 rebounds, Mitchell Hackman finished with 11 points and Norton nine.
Goecker credited the win to a strong team effort.
“Tonight, it was team basketball like it always is,” he said. “We moved the ball and stayed patient. We always trust in each other. Tonight, our defense was amazing. Sage Broughton provided large length in the 1-3-1, and it was hard for them to get passes where they wanted them. It was a very nice team win tonight to extend the lead in the third quarter.”
Goecker said it was sweet to hold a piece of one of the nets.
“These past four years for me have definitely not been the ones I expected and thought they would be, but we came out this year and proved a point,” he said. “We started 1-9, and now, we’re 12-13, so we’re not a 1-9 team, I can tell you that.”
Marksberry had four rebounds to go along with his 10 points in the fourth quarter and said it was fun to be part of the sectional championship.
“It feels good,” Marksberry said. “It’s about time. This is good for the school, that’s for sure.”
Marksberry said with the strong fourth-quarter performances against Edinburgh and West Washington, “I just think it’s crunch time. It’s do or die at this point, and we don’t want to go home yet, so I guess it’s the adrenaline kicking in and playing ball.”
Marksberry made some fist-pumps in the fourth quarter and said he and Goecker just try to be leaders.
“As seniors, that’s what we do,” he said.
Marksberry said he didn’t mind playing Edinburgh and West Washington.
“That’s exactly what we said when we found out the draw. We didn’t want it easy. That doesn’t prove anything. That’s what we wanted,” he said.
“Sage has been big. He saved the day against Edinburgh when we put him in at the top of that 1-3-1 zone. He really gave us a spark. On makes, we went to the 1-3-1 zone. It creates more ball pressure, more traffic in the corners when it gets over here.”
Crase said he felt the defense carried Trinity to the 22-18 lead at the half.
“I thought our offense wasn’t very good,” Crase said. “We were stagnant, but we played good defense to hold them to 18. We just had to start scoring, and we finally did. We just tried to play good defense on the big guy (6-6 Jacob Strange).”
Strange scored 14 points and had six rebounds.
Hackman hit a 3-pointer and Marksberry scored two baskets to keep the Cougars close at 10-12 at the end of the first period.
Goecker had five points and Norton hit a three at the buzzer to spark Trinity to the 22-18 halftime lead.
Goecker and Jacob Sabotin drilled 3s in the third period to help Trinity maintain a 36-32 lead going into the fourth period.
Cougars rally in semifinals
The Cougars used a strong finish to rally and top Edinburgh 72-63 on Friday night.
The Lancers held a 52-43 lead entering the fourth quarter when the Cougars got hot and went on an 11-0 run to close and trail 59-60 on a 3-point basket by Norton with 3:52 remaining.
Edinburgh (18-6) drew even at 63 on a 3-pointer by Caleb Dewey with two minutes left.
Trinity then closed with a 9-0 run to advance to the championship game.
Crase said defensive pressure was a key for the Cougars down the stretch.
“We went to a 1-3-1 trap and sped the game up, and our shots started to fall at the right time,” he said.
The Cougars held the Lancers to 3-for-16 shooting in the fourth period.
Goecker had a 3-pointer and Norton scored from close range late in the game, and the Cougars made 13 of 19 free throws in the fourth period.
Norton was high scorer for the Cougars with 21, Goecker scored 19, Marksberry 18 and Hackman 10.
Travis Jones had 17 points and 11 rebounds to lead Edinburgh, which came into the sectional ranked sevnth in the state in Class A.
Loogootee Regional
Saturday
10 a.m. — Trinity Lutheran (12-13) vs. Barr-Reeve (25-2)
Noon- Lanesville (17-7) vs. Evansville Day (13-5)
7:30 p.m. — Championship
West Washington Sectional
Championship
Trinity Lutheran;10;12;14;21;—;57
West Washington;12;6;14;9;—;41
Trinity Lutheran (12-13): Tyler Goecker 4 2-2 12, Jack Marksberry 6 1-1 14, Jacob Sabotin 3 0-0 7, Mitchell Hackman 5 0-0 11, Hudson Norton 4 1-2 9, Sage Broughton 2 0-0 4, Kade Hill 0 0-0 0. Totals 23 4-5 57
West Washington (12-12): Lane Hoefler 3 2-2 9, Parker Green 1 0-0 2, Holden Bowsman 6 3-4 15, Jacob Strange 5 4-7 14, Kenton Chase 0 1-2 1, Brandon Fleck 0 0-0 0. Totals 20 10-15 41
3 point goals: TL (Goecker 2, Norton 2, Marksberry, Hackman, Sabotin), WW ( Hoefler)
Rebounds: TL 23 (Goecker 10, Marksberry 7), WW 18 (Strange 6)
Turnovers: TL 13, WW 6
Fouls: TL 15, WW 8
Semifinals
Friday
Trinity Lutheran;17;12;14;29;—;72
Edinburgh;15;22;15;11;—;63
Trinity Lutheran (11-13): Goecker 4 8-9 19, Marksberry 8 1-1 18, Sabotin 1 0-0 2, Hackman 3 4-5 10, Norton 8 2-2 21, Broughton 0 2-4 2, Hill 0 0-0 0. Totals 25 14-18 66
Edinburgh (18-6): Isaac Roberts 4 1-2 9, Riley Palmeter 0 2-2 2, Travis Jones 6 5-5 17, Caleb Dewey 5 3-5 14, Noah Detling 4 4-6 12, Landon Burton 3 0-0 7, Chase Littlejohn 1 0-0 2. Totals 23 15-20
3 point goals: TL (Goecker 3, Norton 3, Marksberry 2), E (Dewey, Burton)
Rebounds: TL 23 (Broughton 6, Goecker 5), E 26 (Jones 11)
Turnovers: TL 7, E 5
Fouls: TL 17, E 16