Trinity Collegiate overcomes sluggish start
By Don Gearhart
Trinity Collegiate Titans hosted the Saints from Christian Academy of Myrtle Beach in a boys’ basketball contest. When the Saints go marching in they did just that. However, it was not a sad day for the Titans by a longshot.
The Saints opened a 20-13 lead after one period of play. They were led by the long-range shooting of Brayden Hexdrix, who, launched three trifectas and tacked on a conventional basket along with two free throws for thirteen of his team’s twenty points.
Whatever strategy was discussed in the huddle between periods sure changed the tempo of the game. The Titans were on fire as Jae Thomas connected for a three-pointer and Landon Wilson lofted two from beyond the perimeter to put the Titans back in the lead at 22-20. Christian Miles scored a bucket and Jai Thomas and McCoy Corbin added two free throws apiece before increase the lead to 28-20 before the Saints could find the bottom of the net. A three-point shot with 1:40 to go in the half closed the lead to 28-23. Jae Thomas responded with a buzzer-beating three-point shot to end the half in favor of the Titans at 31-23.
The third period was a low-scoring affair from both teams. The Saints were content to launch from beyond the arch while the Titans worked the ball to try and create lanes to the basket. Both teams had an unordinary number of turnovers which contributed to the lost opportunities. The Saints did manage to knock down one point of disadvantage to set the score at 42-35.
The final period started out the way the previous period was played and it wasn’t until over two minutes had expired before one of the Saints long shots found the net to lower the score to 42-38. With just under four minutes to play, Courtlyn Brunson scored off of an offensive rebound then again when Michael Gregory made a nifty assist to him for a backdoor layup that upped the lead to 46-38. A drive for two by the Saints was further rewarded when a Titans defender fouled. The three points on the play made it a five-point game. Thirty seconds later another layup off a turnover reduced the lead to one possession at 46-43. Gregory scored to increase the lead to five again. The teams traded baskets with just over a minute to play, the Saints began to foul in hopes they could trade one or two points for three. That did not materialize and Jae Thomas connected on a pair of foul shots to set the final score in favor of the Titans at 54-45. Jae Thomas led all scorers with 17 points.
In keeping up with other local Darlington County teams: Hartsville Girls improved to 5-1 with a win over Darlington and a split of the two games against Lancaster. The boys Red Foxes are now 5-2 with a win over Darlington and a loss to Lancaster. The Darlington girls improved to 3-2 with a loss to Hartsville and wins against Wilson, Lamar, and Latta. The Falcon boys dropped to 3-4 with losses to Hartsville and Wilson and victory over Lamar. Both the Lamar boys and girls have an identical 0-7 record with losses this week to Lake City, Darlington, and Hemingway. Trinity Collegiate girls improved to 3-1 with a win against Cape Fear Christian Academy. With the win, the Titans boys team is also 3-1 on the young season.
