Friday was a tough night for the Trenton High School varsity basketball teams, who found themselves on the losing end of a pair of contests against Gallatin.
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The THS girls gave a gallant effort in the second half but came up short, losing to Gallatin at the THS gym, 60-54. The Trenton boys also had a good final two quarters of play, but could not overcome a strong first half by Gallatin as the Bulldogs fell, 67-50.
THS Girls
The Lady Bulldogs from Trenton got off to a slow start in the first two quarters as Gallatin was able to keep them from getting any kind of momentum. Gallatin jumped out to a 14-6 first quarter lead and held the advantage at the half, 33-16.
But the second half proved to be all Trenton, which found its offensive game and outscored Gallatin in the final two periods, 38-27. Unfortunately for the Lady Bulldogs, the effort was not quite enough.
“If we can find a way to share a little bit of our fourth quarter magic with the rest of the game, we would be in pretty good shape,” THS Coach Kris Ockenfels said. “I think things are coming together for this team. I know it is frustrating to lose, but there are a lot of positives to build on.”
One of those positives was the play of Aimee Gutshall, who scored a career-high 19 points to lead the THS attack. Trisha Ireland put in 15 points and Brittany Lynch added 10.
“Aimee Gutshall is playing great,” Ockenfels said. “The bench is coming around and the girls know what they need to do to get better. Now we just have to go out and do it.”
Gallatin was led by Courtney Ray with 19 points. Wren Tolen put in 14 points.
The Lady Bulldogs are 5-3 and will be on the road Tuesday night, taking on Plattsburg in a 6 o’clock matchup.
THS Boys
Offensively, the Trenton boys could never quite get things under way against Gallatin, missing several key shots and finding themselves behind at the end of the first period, 20-10.
“We missed a lot of easy baskets and free throws in the first half and Gallatin converted on those mistakes,” Coach Lyle Best said.
The Bulldogs were behind at the half, 34-16.
But the second half found Trenton getting back on track as the Bulldogs collected 34 points in the final two periods to outscore their rivals, 34-33.
“I thought we did a lot of good things in the second half,” Best said. “I am proud of how our players kept playing hard.”
De’Andre Vandevender had 11 points to pace Trenton while Logan Epperson and Derek Miller added eight points each. Kyle Hoyt put in six points and Josh Lisle and T.J. Ireland scored five points apiece. Tyler Brinkley had three points and Logan Wyant and Scott Stevens each scored two.
Gallatin was led by Nic Burrell with 17 points.
The THS boys are 4-4 on the season and will be at Plattsburg on Tuesday night.
THS JV
The THS junior varsity boys team ended the first half of its season on the losing end, falling to Putnam County on Thursday night, 43-33.
Putnam County took control from the start, rolling up a 17-9 lead after the first period. The Midgets held the lead at the half, 21-15, and were ahead after three quarters, 35-24.
Kameron Alley led Trenton with 14 points and Ryan Wade added eight points. Jaron Rhea scored five points while Michael Kurtz, Dylan Stacy and Brett Lawson added two points each.
The THS JV is now 4-2 and will next see action on Tuesday, Jan. 9 at Gallatin.º