Entering his final year with the Trenton Bulldogs, Jaren Whitney knew the expectations laid upon him as the team’s only senior player. Trenton needed both leadership and on-court productivity from the only returning player with adequate varsity experience.
In a 46-41 victory over Northland Christian at North Central Missouri College’s Holiday Hoops on Tuesday, the Bulldogs got both from Whitney.
The Trenton senior found himself at the free throw line. A missed contested layup by Whitney on the previous possession had allowed Northland Christian to tie a game that Trenton had led by 15 points at the half.
But Whitney was about to take charge. He knocked down both free throws when the Bulldogs had been just over 60 percent from the charity stripe in the game. Next, he stole the ball near mid-court and drove to the hoop for what would be the game-sealing layup. When Northland fired up its last shot of the game, it was Whitney who grabbed the rebound and dribbled out the remaining clock.
“That was a big minute stretch for (Whitney),” Trenton coach Corbin Coe said. “He missed that layup and then bounced back and got the finishing touches there. That’s big. He wants to win every time he can, so for him to go out there and have a big impact, especially late in the game, it’s pretty perfect.”
Whitney finished the game with 13 points, nine rebounds, four assists and three steals.
“It’s awesome to just be an example for (the underclassmen),” Whitney said. “Just let them know that even if things aren’t going right you still focus. It was definitely huge and it helped us succeed and win.”
Gavin Roeder led Trenton with 15 points and three steals, Royce Jackson had 14 points and eight rebounds and Chase Otto and Kayden Spencer had two points each to round out the total.
With the win, Trenton snapped a seven-game slide, moving to 2-8 overall on the season.
“Tonight, that’s all that mattered. We found a way to walk out of the gym with a win,” Coe said. “That stops a seven-game streak. It wasn’t the prettiest game, but that really didn’t matter to us tonight.”
Trenton travels to Gallatin on Tuesday for a Grand River Conference clash. Action tips off with a girls game between the two schools at 6 p.m. and the boys contest will follow.