Early mistakes and poor free throw shooting led to another Trico defeat at the hands of Mounds Meridian Friday night 63-58 in the Norris City 1A Sectional championship game.
“This was a carbon copy of what happened to us last year against them in the sectional,” said Trico coach Shane Hawkins. “We turned it over a couple of times early and never got comfortable with the speed of the game. We were able to get to the basket but we couldn’t finish. And when we did get to the free throw line we couldn't make them (Meridian) pay for it.”
The Pioneers made just one of their first six shots in the game and after three early turnovers, found themselves down 12-2.
Trico ended the opening quarter with an 11-5 scoring run, as Chase Heins tossed in seven points, to trail just 17-13.
Poor free throw shooting would haunt Trico in the second quarter, as the team made just 4-of-13 from the line and Meridian would build up a 13-point lead on two occasions.
Like in the first quarter, Trico was able to make a run late. The Pioneers finished the first half with a 7-2 scoring run to trail 35-27 at the intermission. Logan Thies led the Pioneer attack in the second scoring six points.
Trico looked primed to complete the comeback early in the third quarter, after a basket by Tyler Coleman and a three-pointer from Dylan Witthoft cut the deficit to three points, 35-32.
Unfortunately for Trico fans, the Pioneers would go just 1-of-8 from the field with four turnovers to finish the third quarter down 43-34.
The Pioneers made just two of its first 12 shots from the field in the fourth quarter, as Meridian increased its lead to 12 points with just 1:34 to play in the game.
However, Trico had one last run left. The Pioneers scored the next eight points to cut the deficit to four points and after a layup from Daron Meyerhoff, had the lead down to three points.
With 4.8 seconds in the game, Meridian junior Cameron Ballard made two free throws to seal the five-point win.
“We had opportunities and that is the most discouraging part,” added Coach Hawkins. “You can't consistently play from behind and expect to win. We wanted to get off to a good start to build confidence. You have to capitalize on their mistakes and we didn't do that.”
Trico finished 23-of-60 overall from the field and just 2-of-16 from behind the arc. The Pioneers also made just 10-of-25 from the foul line in the loss.
Heins led Trico with 16 points while Pyatt added 10 points.
Trico 64, Crab Orchard 49
Despite turning the ball over 24 times, Trico pulled away late for a 64-49 victory over Crab Orchard Wednesday night in the Norris City 1A Sectional semifinals.
“Most of our turnovers were unforced,” said Trico coach Shane Hawkins. “They (Crab Orchard) pressured us a little but the majority of the turnovers were our on doing. We were trying to do too much out there instead of having the game come to us.”
The Pioneers, who never trailed in the game, made 6-of-11 shots in the first quarter to go along with seven turnovers for a 13-9 lead.
Trico found its offensive rhythm in the second quarter, scoring on 12-of-14 possessions to build a 10-point lead. However, Crab Orchard kept battling making three three-pointers in the quarter and had the lead down to four points after back-to-back threes from Coty Wace and Brandon Boester.
The Pioneers answered as Taylor Pyatt scored seven consecutive points to help his team lead 38-29 at the break. Jesse Smith poured in eight points in the second quarter.
The Trojans opened the third quarter with a 7-2 scoring run to close within four points, 40-36. However, Smith once again stepped up big time for Trico, as his traditional three-point play helped swing the momentum back to the Pioneers. After three quarters of play the Pioneers led 47-40.
“We were able to answer each time Crab Orchard made a run at us,” said Hawkins. “I really think that is because of the experience we have out on the floor. Some of our guys are playing in their third sectional in four years and that kind of experience is very important in high school sports.”
In the final eight minutes of play, Logan Thies and Smith scored seven and six points respectively as Trico outscored Crab Orchard 17-9 to pull away for the 15-point win.
Pyatt finished with 13 points to lead the Pioneers, while Smith had 12 and Thies added 11.
“Our balance is why we have experienced the success we have had this year,” said Hawkins. “We have very good depth with good athletes coming off the bench. We can score a variety of ways. Our depth is even more important on the defensive end as we can go all out and guard people for the entire game.”
Drew Johnson led all scorers with 21 points to lead Crab Orchard, while Ben Kissing had 11.
With the win, Trico improved to 30-2 on the season and advanced to the sectional finals.