R-T Photo/Seth Herrold
Max McNabb goes up and over a Putnam County defender for two points during the Bulldogs’ 69-63 victory over the Midgets on Tuesday night in Trenton. McNabb had 14 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter. He also added six blocks and four assists in the victory.
This website brought to you in part by the following sponsor:
Find out how to advertise here –
Email us! [email protected]
Trenton wrapped up GRC play with a 5-2 mark, finishing second in the East Division standings behind Milan, which ran a 6-1 mark in the division and the lone loss coming at the hands of the Trenton Bulldogs. Two early season losses – one in double overtime at South Harrison and the other by single digits against a Gallatin team that Trenton had previously defeated at the Gallatin Tournament – proved to be backbreakers for the Bulldogs.
“Our goal is to play our best basketball going into tournaments and at the end of the season and I guess we got that,” Trenton Head Coach Jeremy Austin said. “But, we have to compete a little better earlier in the season. It is bittersweet, but both of those teams that have beaten us have had good seasons. They have good records and South Harrison has been playing really well as of late. There is no shame in losing to these guys, it’s just that we had opportunities to (win the GRC East) and we didn’t get it done. What we have in front of us is what we have to focus on, though. We have some good ballgames coming through and we need to make a good push going into districts.”
Trenton’s game with Putnam County was a wild way to close out GRC East play. Trenton led by nearly 20 points, trailed by as many as 10 and wound up winning by six.
Trenton came out guns blazing, knocking down shots at a strong clip. The Bulldogs got three-pointers by four different players in the game, several falling early on as Trenton raced out to 16-10 first quarter and 36-27 halftime leads.
But Putnam roared back in the third quarter. The Midgets outscored Trenton 20-7 in the frame, taking a 47-43 lead into the final period. But in the game’s final eight minutes, Trenton regained the handle on the game, outscoring the Midgets 26-16 down the stretch to come out on top.
The Bulldog defense was a huge factor in the game. Carson Radcliff had seven steals for Trenton, which had 13 total thefts in the game, and Max McNabb, blocked six shots under the hoops.
“We did not do really well against (Putnam County’s) half-court trap,” Austin said. “We didn’t do a good job of penetrate and kick that we like to see, so it’s just fortunate that we played really good defense for some long stretches at a time. That gave us transition baskets. Really, when you open the court up, that’s when Carson plays his best basketball. He has room to maneuver, people can find him in transition and he does a good job finishing.”
Radcliff paced Trenton with 20 points and added three assists to his seven steals in the game. McNabb followed with 14 points, 10 of which came in the fourth quarter for Trenton, and had four assists to go with the six blocked shots.
Behind that duo, Trenton got 13 points and four assists from Lathan Croy, eight points and four assists from Dylan Harris, seven points and four steals from Hunter Dugan, five points and two assists from Kade Ockenfels and two points from Carson Burchett.
As a team, Trenton shot 56 percent from the field and knocked down three-pointers at a 39 percent rate.
“When you take basically the same amount of shots from the same spots and they just start falling more and more as the season goes along, it’s just an added bonus,” Austin said. “It sets the defense up in a better position to compete and it gives everybody a little more motivation when they see the ball drop through the net. You have got to give the guys who are hitting these shots a lot of credit. They have spent a lot of time working on their shot and if they have a bad game, they are back in there the next day working extra hard to make up for it. To see some fruits of their labor is nice and it’s good for the team as well.”
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs will travel for a Grand River Conference crossover game on Friday. Trenton will play the number-two team in the GRC West standings. That opponent will be St. Joseph Christian, assuming the Lions defeat Braymer tonight. Should Braymer win, Trenton’s boys will join the girls in making a trip to Stanberry.