Trinity used a 3-point barrage to build a double-digit lead early, then kept their distance en route to a convincing 75-62 win over Apollo at home Saturday night.
The Raiders (2-2) used long stretches of pesky defense and hot offense to push their lead to more than 20 points in the third quarter, and the Eagles were never able to really threaten late.
Kevin Foster nailed a corner 3-pointer on the first possession, and he knocked down six of the team’s 11 made shots from long range.
“We’ve had two really good shooting games and two kind of poor shooting games,” said head coach Nathan West of a busy first week. “I think we’re more of a really good shooting team.”
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For more photos from the game, click here.
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Trinity lost their last two games by a combined five points, but they wasted no time establishing a big advantage against the Eagles (0-2). The Raiders went up 12-2 in less than three minutes with help from two 3s by Foster.
The second quarter was more of the same, with Foster and Landon Huff each hitting a pair of 3-pointers on the way to a 37-23 halftime advantage.
Much of the scoring was set up by an active defense, as the Raiders’s consistent extended pressure caused problems for the Eagles for much of the night.
“I was proud of them,” West said. “They competed hard. I thought our defense looked really good. We got a lot of deflections and stuff.”
West said after struggling with Daviess County’s size, his team had to make some adjustments to fully utilize their quickness.
“We had to make a change in the second half of the Daviess County game because they were a little bit bigger and they were beating us down the court,” he said. “We adjusted our press a little bit and added something in that we can maybe go to. We just wanted to change the pace a little bit.”
Apollo never lost their grit, but they struggled to make shots from short and long range. They scored 25 points in the fourth quarter with help from 10 free throws, but it was too late.
Trinity’s success also relied on the effort from their second unit. While they didn’t score at the same rate, their energy and defense helped keep the lead safe for the Raiders.
“They’re instrumental,” West said. “Will Edge is the first guy off the bench, and he just doesn’t get tired. I knew that going in. He’s always played like that. We have a lot of young talent. They come in with a lot of energy, but they’ve still got to learn the game a little bit.”
Huff scored a game-high 20 points and hit four 3-pointers, while Foster finished with 18 points and Ethan Howard added 11.
Malik Wilson led Apollo with 14 points, Jaden Kelly scored 11, and Dylon Talbott and Ryan Ash each had 10.
Trinity will open 12th District play Tuesday when they host Edmonson County. Apollo will stay on the road when they go to Henderson County on Tuesday.
BOX SCORE
Apollo 11-12-14-25–62
Trinity 20-17-20-18–75
Apollo (62): Malik Wilson 14, Jaden Kelly 11, Dylon Talbott 10, Ryan Ash 10, Landon Hamilton 8, Cameron Frantz 5, Harrison Bowman 4
Trinity (75): Landon Huff 20, Kevin Foster 18, Landon Hall 11, Bailey Wright 8, Brenden Wathen 6, Ethan Howard 4, Ben Goetz 3, Denver Dickens 3, Will Edge 2
