The Trenton High School basketball teams were on the road Thursday night, competing against future Grand River Conference-mate Gallatin. The Lady Bulldogs picked up a 57-42 win over Gallatin, their second victory over their fellow Bulldogs this season. The Trenton boys, meanwhile, matched up with Gallatin for the first time this year and were handed a 63-52 loss, just the Bulldogs’ second defeat of the season.
Lady Bulldogs
The Trenton girls repeated their Gallatin Tournament championship victory with a second win over Gallatin on their home floor. Trenton worked its way out to a 10-point halftime lead after leading by just two points at the end of the first quarter. The Lady Bulldogs pushed the advantage to 15 points entering the final frame where Gallatin attempted a comeback. Trenton answered every challenge Gallatin threw at it, however, and maintained their advantage, winning by 15 points in the end.
“It’s always tough to win at Gallatin and this game was no different,” Lady Bulldogs’ Head Coach Brian Upton said. “I thought for the most part we handled their full- and half-court pressure well. We ran the floor well and their press created some easy basket opportunities for us and we capitalized.”
Whitley Richman paced the Lady Bulldogs with a game-high 20 points, three rebounds and four steals. Lexie Tolson and Daryian Otto reached double figures for Trenton as well, each scoring 11 points. Lexie Tolson added five rebounds, three assists and three steals. Ainsley Tolson had eight points, five rebounds, four assists and four steals and Salem Croy finished with five points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals. Ally Ockenfels rounded out the Trenton total with two points and two assists.
“Whitley had a nice game, going 9-of-11 from the field,” Upton said. “She had some key baskets as we extended our lead. Our guards did most of the heavy lifting on the boards. Lexie, Ainsley and Salem combined for 14 of our 21 rebounds. They also did a nice job of navigating Gallatin’s pressure defense and finding open players. They had 11 of our 14 assists.
“Daryian came up with a nice game as well, especially in the fourth quarter. She finished with 11 points and her and Lexie were the unsung heroes of the game. Lexie had 11 points too and was two-of-two from the three-point line. All-in-all, it was a good team win for us.”
The Lady Bulldogs remained undefeated with the win, moving to 8-0.
Bulldogs
The Trenton boys came out of the gates white hot, opening on an 11-3 run and forcing Gallatin into an early timeout. Gallatin was able to stop the bleeding at that point and trailed just 18-11 by the opening quarter’s end. Gallatin continued to build momentum in the second quarter, coming all the way back with a 20-12 run to take a 31-30 halftime lead. Trenton’s offense sputtered and the Bulldogs struggled to contain Gallatin on the inside as Trenton suffered its second loss of the season, this one by 11 points.
“We played poorly after our shots stopped falling,” Bulldogs’ Head Coach Jeremy Austin said. “Our team is capable of playing well on a lot of fronts, but tonight we put our eggs in one basket and it cost us a lot. Gallatin has been playing very well and has only lost two games this season so we had to be able to execute better to beat them.”
Trenton was led by Kail McCarter, who had 16 points, seven rebounds and three assists. Behind McCarter, Trenton had six players who all had six points each. Cree Mullenix, Brice Dillon, Mason Radcliff, Corbyn Guile, Spencer Harris and Connor Cotton all had six each. Mullenix added six rebounds and three assists, Dillon and Guile each had two assists and Harris had a pair of steals.
“Kail played really well tonight, he scored points for us and rebounded well when we had to have them,” Austin said. “He has been a guy who makes a lot happen for us lately. We moved the ball very well early and late, making many unselfish passes and looking like the team we want to be, we just made too many defensive mistakes. I’m glad we get to be on the floor again tomorrow. We can prove to ourselves that we are capable of being the defensive team we think we are.”
With the loss, Trenton fell to 6-2 on the season.
Trenton’s boys return to action tonight, taking on Maryville at North Central Missouri College’s Holiday Hoops. Tip time from the Ketcham Community Center is set for 8:30.
The Lady Bulldogs will see Holiday Hoops action on Saturday, taking on St. Joseph-Lafayette at 5:30 p.m.