Poor free throw shooting and missed late opportunities proved to be the difference as Trico’s season came to an end Tuesday night in the Eldorado 1A Sectional with a 55-52 loss to Mounds Meridian, the third ranked team in the state.
The Pioneers were just 10-of-26 from the free throw line including going 3-of-13 from the line during the second quarter as Meridian outscored Trico 26-5 to steal the momentum of the game.
Trico got off to a great start scoring the first seven points of the game and led 19-8 at the end of the first quarter.
The Pioneers were 7-of-10 from the floor in the quarter as Dylan Witthoft nailed two three-pointers for six points, Logan Thies scored six points and Clint Young added five points.
The Trico defense forced Meridian to take outside shots, which paid off as the Bobcats were just 4-of-14 from the field in the opening quarter.
The tide quickly turned in the second quarter with a 14-2 run by Meridian to take its first lead of the game 22-21. The poor shooting from the free throw line carried over to the game as the Pioneers were just 1-of-12 from the floor in the second quarter as they found themselves down 34-24 at halftime.
“We did everything we could in the first quarter,” said Trico coach Shane Hawkins. “We hit outside shots and we kept Meridian to the perimeter. We had a lead, but never really got comfortable with the pace of the game they wanted to play.”
In a true role reversal, Meridian decided to slow down the pace in the third quarter taking longer possessions trying to shorten the game. The Bobcats led by as much as 14 points in the third, but Trico continued to battle and after another three-pointer from Witthoft, the Pioneers trailed 42-31 heading into the fourth quarter.
Trailing 53-43 with under three minutes to play, Trico put together a 9-2 scoring run  which was capped by a Thies layup with 9.5 seconds left in the game to cut the deficit to three points, 55-52, as Meridian couldn’t put the game away due to poor free throw shooting. The Bobcats were 4-of-17 from the line in the final quarter.
Trico’s defense then forced a turnover as Meridian could not inbound the ball from the baseline. Hawkins drew up a final play that gave Jesse Smith a decent look at a three-point shot to tie the game, but the ball bounced off the rim and Meridian’s Brent Kennedy came down with the rebound and was quickly fouled by Trico.
Kennedy needed to make just one free throw to seal the win, but the junior missed both shots. However, Trico’s outlet pass was tipped and the Pioneers couldn’t get a final shot off before the final buzzer sounded.
“We fought back and put ourselves in a position to win the game late,” added Hawkins. “We never stopped playing and the guys didn’t quit, they will learn from this loss.”
Thies finished with a game high 18 points, while Witthoft had nine and Smith, Young and Chase Heins all had seven in the loss.
Jerry Johnson and Zach Mitchell each had 11 points to pace Meridian.
With the loss, Trico’s season ends with a record of 21-10.