The Trenton Bulldogs got three chances to cash in on a victory over their rivals, the Chillicothe Hornets, on Tuesday night in Trenton. The Bulldogs came up short in all three contests, however, as they fell 39-21 in the junior varsity boys contest, 42-25 in the varsity girls game and 64-50 in the varsity boys game.
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
Lady Bulldogs
The Trenton girls came out playing solid defense against Chillicothe. The Lady Bulldogs held the Lady Hornets to just eight points in the first quarter. Trenton’s Aimee Gutshall recorded two fouls and was on the bench early in the opening quarter. As a result, the Lady Bulldog offense never really took off. Trenton scored just five points in the first quarter, putting them at an 8-5 disadvantage after the first eight minutes.
Gutshall returned to the game at the start of the second quarter, but picked up her third foul just 18 seconds into the action. The Lady Hornets also put a press on the Lady Bulldogs and forced several turnovers.
Facing a strong pressure defense without their primary scoring threat, the Lady Bulldogs were overmatched. The Lady Hornets outscored Trenton 15-4 in the second quarter, including a 9-0 run to close the half, to break the game open.
Trenton continued to struggle with the press in the third quarter and lost five more points to Chillicothe. With a quarter to play, Trenton trailed 33-14. Trenton had their strongest offensive period of the night in the fourth and actually outscored the Lady Hornets 11-9, but still wound up on the losing end.
“We did a poor job of dealing with Chillicothe’s pressure defense in the first half,” Head Coach Quentin Albrecht said. “Defensively we did well, but we have to be more productive on the offensive end.”
Lindsey Derry was the lone Lady Bulldog in double-figures, scoring a team-high 10 points.
The Lady Bulldogs fell to 3-9 with the loss.
Bulldogs
Like the Lady Bulldogs, the second quarter was the one that doomed the boys squad. After playing Chillicothe closely in a very fast-paced first quarter, the Hornets outscored the Bulldogs 23-10.
Trenton trailed 13-10 after the first quarter, but fell behind quickly in the second quarter. Chillicothe went on a run opening up a large lead. Trenton began to climb back into the contest, but another Hornet run to close the half put Trenton down 36-20 at the break.
Trenton’s play picked up considerably in the second half. Kyle Hoyt stepped up big in the third quarter, scoring seven of his 11 points. Trenton minimized the damage, but could not close the gap. In the fourth quarter, the Bulldogs outscored the Hornets, but only 17-13. When the clock hit zeros in the fourth, Trenton was still on the losing end.
“We have to try to learn something from these ballgames,” Head Coach Jeremy Austin said. “We think we can do a better job on our shooting. That’s something we are going to work on.”
The Bulldogs shot 40 percent from the field, but were hurt by a 2-of-12 night from beyond the arc.
De’Andre Vandevender was the leading scorer for the Bulldogs, putting up 12 points on the night. Hoyt’s 11 was good for second-high on the team. Trenton also got contributions from Jim Weaver, Brett Lawson and Tyler Brinkley, all of whom scored seven points.
The Bulldog record dropped to 8-4 on the season with the loss.
Both varsity squads will return to the court Thursday night for make-up games with South Harrison in Bethany. Tip off is set for 6 p.m. for the girls game with boys action to follow.
JV Boys
The junior varsity boys basketball team suffered a loss to Chillicothe as well.
Trenton took its first and only lead of the night when Lucas Hahn drilled a three to put the Bulldogs up 3-2. Steals leading to fast break buckets allowed the Hornets to pull out to a 12-5 first quarter lead.
Defense took center stage in the second quarter as both teams went scoreless over the first three minutes. The Bulldogs would be scoreless in the quarter until Travis Bruner scored with 1:51 left. By halftime, Trenton had fallen behind 21-10.
Trenton’s defense came out very strong in the second half. The Bulldogs held the Hornets to just six points in the third quarter. Trenton could only score six points of their own, however, and went to the fourth trailing 27-16. Chillicothe pulled away down the stretch, taking a win in the end.
“Chillicothe did a good job of moving the ball around,” Head Coach Adam Clark said. “We gave them too many second shot attempts. When we allowed only one shot we were able to run the floor and get a good look at the basket.”
Travis Bruner led the way for the JV squad, scoring eight points.
Trenton fell to 2-5 on the season with the loss.
The JV squad will be back on the court Thursday along side the girls JV squad in the Gallatin JV Tournament. The boys first game will be against South Harrison at 5:45 p.m. The girls first action will be at 4:30 p.m.