Mike McGraw
Hoosier Authority
Friday night’s
game between Tri-West and Western Boone was a perfect example of one of the
oldest adages in basketball. The game requires a lot of different skills, but
the only one they give points for is putting the round orange thing through the
other round orange thing. It is a lesson Western Boone learned in a frustrating
68-61 loss to the home standing Bruins.
Western
Boone dominated play for much of the game, but they suffered through a
horrendous shooting night. Conversely, Tri-West was outrebounded for long
stretches at a time and committed far too many turnovers. However, they took
good shots and shot well. The result was that the Stars led only once the
entire game.
The first
quarter was symptomatic of the entire night. Tri-West jumped to a quick 6-3
lead. They then scored only once on their next seven possessions, turning the
ball over four times during that span. At the end of it all, the score was
still tied 8-8. The Bruins then ended the stanza on an 8-4 run and led 14-10 at
the end of one period. Western Boone, despite outrebounding the Bruins and
taking good care of the ball, hit only four shots in the quarter.
The second
period saw the Stars warm up from the field early and fight their way to a
21-20 lead midway through the quarter. They then hit only one shot the
remainder of the half and Tri-West ended the quarter on an 11-3 run for a 31-24
margin at halftime. Are you detecting a pattern here?
The third
quarter was an instant replay of the second. Western Boone spent most of the
quarter cutting into the lead, eventually closing to within one at 35-34.
Tri-West then went on a 7-2 run to regain control. The quarter ended 42-39 in
favor of the Bruins.
That set up
the key segment of the game, and if you blinked you missed it. The possession
arrow favored Western Boone. So, the Stars started the fourth quarter with the
ball and a chance to tie the game. Thirty-five seconds later they were down
eight and a minute after that the Bruin lead was 12. The Stars started the
period by missing a three point attempt. Tri-West immediately responded with a
transition trey from Austin Hendershot. Seconds later a Bruin steal at
halfcourt resulted in a layup and it was 47-39. The sudden flurry seemed to
rattle the Stars for the only time all night. They turned the ball over on
their next two possessions. The lead ballooned to 51-39 and Western boone’s
fate was sealed.
Tri-West
eventually extended the margin to 57-42 with a little over three minutes to
play. Western Boone would stage a furious rally, actually closing to with five
in the last minute. However, it was too little, too late.
Randall Lowe
had an outstanding night for Tri-West, scoring a game high 27 points. He was
aided by the 17 of Jake Allen. Trievin Poole had 18 for the Stars. The victory
evens Tri-West’s conference slate at 1-1. Western Boone falls to 2-1 overall
and 0-1 in the Sagamore Conference.
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