After splitting the regular season series between the two teams, the Raiders couldn’t hang on to their early lead and fell short of a district championship berth in a first round matchup with Butler County 67-64.
Senior Nick Goetz tried to help Trinity (Whitesville) build a lead in the first quarter with a pair of threes and 10 of the team’s points, but the Bears had a slightly more balanced attack and gained a narrow 15-13 lead heading into the second. Goetz and his fellow seniors caught steam in the second though, as Landon Huff had eight points in the quarter, while Nate Hernadnez had five, Goetz had four and Nolan Mills had two as they claimed a 30-27 lead at halftime.
The Raiders didn’t have the same efficiency on offense coming out of the locker room though, as they were held to single digits while Ty Price and Justin Castlen got five and four points in the quarter respectively as Butler County knotted things up at 40-40 heading into the fourth. The game came to a close with a bang though, as the final quarter was an absolute offensive showcase.
Huff played a big part in that for Trinity, as he grabbed 12 of the team’s 24 points as they looked to battle out a first-round district win. But Bears sophomore Ty Price (12 points) and Justin Castlen (eight points) had other ideas, combining for 20 of the team’s 27 in the fourth as they walked away with a 67-64 win over the Raiders.
Price and Castlen led Butler County with 22 and 19 points respectively, while Lawson Rice and Trevor Deweese were the only other players to score with 16 and 10 points respectively. The Raiders on the other hand were led by Huff’s 21 points, while Goetz had 17 and Hernandez and Smith had 10 points each.
Trinity (Whitesville) closes the season with an overall record of 14-16, while falling short of a trip to the district championship and finishing with a 3-4 district record.
