NEW WASHINGTON— The Cougars came to town on Saturday evening seeking their first sectional title since the 2020-2021 season. They faced off with the host school in New Washington, the team they fell to in the postseason last year. Trinity would defeat New Washington earlier this season by 15 points on Jan. 13th.

The rematch took place with the sectional crown on the line.

Trinity held a 15-point lead at intermission, before they rolled to their first sectional title in 3 years. Trinity defeated the Mustangs 49-33.

Head Coach Mike Lang spoke on the outcome with New Washington.

“I thought tonights win was a total team effort and we came out set the tone early,” Lang said. “We were able to get to the basket early and play inside out.”

Hudson Lang had a night to remember for the Cougars, leading things off with a huge three to put the Cougars up 9-4 in the first quarter. Good ball movement and taking advantage of Mustang turnovers made for an early Cougars lead.

The freshman spoke on his performance, which consisted of leading all scorers with 18 points.

“I thought I played really well,” Lang said. “The team also played really good tonight, we knew what we had to do and got the job done.”

Reed Mellencamp followed his miss the next possession, getting the putback basket to fall. Trinity held an 11-4 lead before Mason Arthur of New Wash hit three free throws to make it 11-7. Pottschmidt followed that with a three to make it 14-7. Trinity held a 14-7 lead after the first quarter.

Pottschmidt spoke on his performance, which included 13 points for Trinity.

“I thought my defense and the whole team’s defense was really good tonight,” he said. “I just hit a couple shots when we needed them.”

The Cougars outscored the Mustangs 39-20 through three quarters, after leading 28-13 at halftime. Trinity was agressive on the glass all evening, especially with Kowan Gross and Peyton Pollert. Coach Lang spoke about their rebounding efforts.

“Our guys attacked the glass hard. We knew we had a size advantage down low,” he said. “Kowan and Peyton absolutely dominated the glass.”

Arthur would be held to just seven points throughout the evening, allowing the Cougars to take over and secure the victory. Giltner led the Mustangs with 18 points on the evening.

The final quarter tipped off with an Arthur basket, Lang would then be fouled going to the hoop, hitting both of them to make it 41-22 with six minutes remaining in the game.

New Washington scored two quick buckets to make it a 15-point game. Lang came right back silencing the crowd with another bucket to make it 43-26.

The starters were then pulled as the final minutes ticked off the clock, sparking the Cougar fans to begin their cheers. Bode Brooks added the final touches with a free throw, making it 49-33.

Both athletes spoke about being apart of a sectional championship winning team at Trinity.

“Being apart of a sectional winning team is a blast especially seeing the progress the team has made over the course of the year has just been awesome to be apart of,” Pottschmidt said.

Hudson spoke about what makes this Cougars’ team play better.

“What’s makes the team play better is when we all play for one another,” Lang said. “We get really hard to guard when we move the ball and play together.”

Trinity celebrated after the title win. Pottschmidt and Lang were both asked about being apart of this years’ team with all their teammates.

“Coming into this year we knew what our goals were,” Hudson Lang said. “We were set on them all year and got the job done.”

“Being apart of this team has been a great experience and going into practice everyday with this group of guys has been all I could ask for,” Pottschmidt said. “Hopefully we can keep the train rolling into regionals.”

Trinity found out they were facing Evansville Christian in Regionals this Saturday at 4 p.m. The game will take place at Loogootee High School. Taking place beforehand is the Christian Academy of Indiana against Barr-Reeve.

The Cougars also had three All-Tournament selections in Lang, Mellencamp and Pottschmidt.

Beau Napier of Crothersville, and Hudson Johnson of Medora were also chosen.

New Washington Sectional

Trinity Lutheran 49, New Washington 33

Trinity Lutheran; 14; 14; 11; 10;—;49

New Washington; 7; 6; 7; 13;—;33

Trinity Lutheran (14-11): Hudson Lang, 6 4-4 18, Levi Pottschmidt, 4 3-3 13, Kowan Gross, 4 2-2 10, Peyton Pollert, 1 2-4 4, Braxton Sinclair, 0 2-2 2, Reed Mellencamp, 1 0-0 2. Totals: 16 13-15 49

New Washington (6-19): Paul Giltner, 6 5-8 18, Mason Arthur, 2 3-3 7, Amos Bell, 2 0-0 4, Cohen Briles, 1 0-0 2, Miguel Hesgig, 1 0-0 2. Totals: 12 8-11 33

3-Point Goals: Trinity 4, (Lang and Pottschmidt 2) New Washington 1

Fouls: New Washington 14, Trinity 9

All-Tournament Team

Trinity Lutheran: Hudson Lang, Reed Mellencamp, Levi Pottschmidt

New Washington: Mason Arthur, Pauly Giltner

Crothersville: Beau Napier

Medora: Hudson Johnson

Rising Sun: Brodie Morris

Shawe: Phillip Cane