Despite scoring single digits in two quarters, the Apollo Eagles grabbed their first win in nearly a month when they took down Trinity Wednesday night at AHS.
Apollo outscored the Raiders 23-10 in the final frame to take the game 55-49 to not only give them a victory before a pair of 9th District games but also their first win over Trinity since 2015 as the Raiders won the last two matchups.
Eagle coach Mark Starns said his team needed this win after their last one on Jan. 25 against South Warren in another close game where they beat the Spartans 55-53.
“It gives us confidence,” he said of the win. “I’m looking for the right rotation, the guys that are confidence with the ball in crunch time situations. I’m beginning to find out what guys can and can’t do. It’s that time of the year … I’m going to go with the guys that are performing under pressure.”
Trinity was the aggressor out of the gate Wednesday as the Raiders led 16-9 after the first frame but it took the Eagles some time to get started.
Apollo’s Dan St. Clair had five points in each of the first two quarters as he finished with a game-high 18 points.
What St. Clair did for the Eagles in the first half, Landon Hamilton and Harrison Bowman continued that in the second half for Apollo despite the team scoring just five points in the third quarter.
Starns said it helps to have multiple players stepping up this time of the year.
“It’s big, especially going into a district game,” he said. “A game like that can flip the rest of the year for us, it can. As trivial as that may seem, it can possibly flip. Let’s get on a roll. We’re on a winning streak now. Let’s stay on a winning streak.”
Hamilton and Bowman finished with 13 points, with Bowman going 6-of-8 from the free-throw line in the fourth to help put the game away.
Starns said he knew the game was going to be a battle as he’s seen the Raiders go toe-to-toe with some good basketball teams.
“Nathan West does a good job,” Starns said. “They’re well-disciplined and coached. I saw them against Webster, it took Webster about three and a half quarters to get the win from them. I saw them against Union County, it took Union County about three and a half quarters to get the win. He does a good job with them. They know their roles. I told the boys, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. They may not look the part but they play the part.”
Landon Huff led the Raiders with 16 points while Bailey Wright (13 points) and Nate Hernandez (11 points) also had solid games for West.
Trinity was without starter Denver Dickens as he was out due to Covid protocol.
Despite the loss, West said they can still build on the game.
“It’s one of those things where we can just learn from it and grow from it,” he said. “We did our district draw today so we have an end goal thereof who we’re playing and we’re just going to use everything toward that.”
The Raiders will play Grayson County in the first round of the 12th District Tournament the week of March 15.
Until then, West said it’s about finding what works.
“Our focus has been execution and with our youth, I think you just see it in certain games, especially this week,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s the snow or what but we’ve come out slow both games this week and tried to dig ourselves back.”
Trinity hosts McLean County tonight in Whitesville.
Apollo now has back-to-back 9th District games as the Eagles are Daviess County Friday and then at Owensboro early next week.
While other coaches are finding ways to make up for missed time, Starns said he’s focusing on the time he has.
“A lot of coaches are trying to reach out and cram all these games in,” he said. “Strategically, I don’t think it’s a smart move because you could run into a team that would wipe you out for the rest because of Covid.”
APOLLO 55, TRINITY 49
THS (5-11) 16 12 11 10–49
AHS (3-9) 9 18 5 23–55
THS: Landon Huff 16, Bailey Wright 13, Nate Hernandez 11, Gavin Howard 6, Landon Smith 3
AHS: Dan St. Clair 18, Landon Hamilton 13, Harrison Bowman 13, Cameron Frantz 7, Jaden Kelly 2, Brady Ward 2
2021 basketball coverage is presented in part by Rhoads & Rhoads Attorneys at Law.
