TAMING THE TIGERS

The Trenton High School basketball teams enjoyed another home sweep on Monday night, picking up victories over visiting Plattsburg in both the girls’ and boys’ games. The Lady Bulldogs scored a 38-29 win and the Bulldogs completed the sweep with a 68-56 victory.
Lady Bulldogs
The Trenton girls got the job done behind a stellar defensive effort. Trenton led 11-9 after the first quarter and held just a 20-17 advantage at halftime. Plattsburg would only be able to get five points against Trenton in the third quarter and just seven in the fourth. Trenton scored a mere four points in the third quarter, but got the job done when it counted, finishing the contest with a 14-point fourth quarter to seal the victory.
“This was a tough game versus a long, athletic team,” Lady Bulldogs’ Head Coach Brian Upton said. “Plattsburg is much improved and beat Lawson this year and lost to East Buchanan by one in overtime. Defensively, we made it difficult for them all game, but especially in the second half. The girls did a great job of controlling the tempo of the game – it would have been very tough to keep up with them in a fast-paced game.”
Trenton was paced by Whitley Richman, who went for 16 points, seven rebounds and four steals. McKinley Hurley added 11 points, four rebounds, seven steals and five assists. Daryian Otto gave Trenton a good game, scoring seven points.
“Whitley was very good,” Upton said. “She was seven-of-10 from the field and two-for-two at the free throw line. McKinley was steady as normal and Daryian was also good with three big buckets in the fourth quarter to go with five rebounds. Overall, we took care of the basketball – only committing 10 turnovers – and shot the ball well from the field.”
Trenton also got two points and five rebounds from Ally Ockenfels and Lexie Tolson had two points as well.
With the win, Trenton improved to 5-2 overall on the season.
Bulldogs
The Trenton boys got off to a quick start, but Plattsburg reeled in the Bulldogs. After a quarter of play Trenton led 20-16. Plattsburg would use a 17-11 run in the second quarter to take a 33-31 halftime lead, but the second half belonged to Trenton. The Bulldogs went on a 17-7 run in the third quarter and closed the game with a 20-point effort in the final frame to pick up the 12-point victory.
“I thought we played the right way,” Bulldogs’ Head Coach Jeremy Austin said. “We did a good job of getting the ball inside to Chris (Flowers) early and keeping him involved. He is a good basketball player and we want to keep him involved,. That is a good weapon for us. Then, after we established the inside, we shot the ball well. That makes a lot of sense because we get a lot more open looks when we establish the inside game early.”
Flowers ended up leading Trenton with 20 points, five rebounds and two blocked shots. Cree Mullenix finished with 15 points, four assists and two steals and Spencer Harris added 12 points, eight rebounds and five assists. Trenton also got nine points and two thefts from Kail McCarter, eight points and two assists from Cade Mullenix and two points each from Aaron Anderson and Colton Neff.
“For the most part all our buckets came throughout the offense,” Austin said. “We played good defense and this was just a good game for us. We just looked solid throughout.”
The win pushed the Bulldogs’ record over .500 for the first time this season at 4-3.
Both Trenton varsity teams will be at home again on Thursday, playing host to Gallatin. Action tips off with the girls’ game at 6 p.m. and the boys’ contest will follow.
Junior Varsity
A junior varsity girls’ game preceded the varsity doubleheader with Trenton topping Plattsburg’s JV girls squad 35-15. A defensive first half saw the Lady Bulldogs lead 16-9 at the break and the Lady Bulldogs would only increase the lead in the second half, pulling away steadily throughout the night en route to the 20-point win.
Ashten Whitaker led Trenton with 15 points and Jaylen Neff added eight. Claire Utley gave Trenton four points and Lana Raymo, Jordain Oshel, Katerina Black and Samantha Mihalovich all had two points each.
The win moved the Trenton JV girls to 2-0 on the season. Trenton’s JV girls team is now off until Friday, Jan. 9 when they travel to Brookfield for a girls’-boys’ JV doubleheader. The girls game gets things started at 6 p.m.