LIZTON — Tri-West broke open a close game by outscoring North Montgomery by 17 points in the third quarter. The Bruins went on to cruise to a 77-60 Sagamore Conference victory over visiting North Montgomery.
Charger coach Chad Arnold said he was disappointed with his team’s effort, especially in the deciding third period after his team trailed by just one point, 33-32, at intermission.
The story of the game was most reflective in the battle for the caroms. Tri West (9-10, 4-3) dominated the glass throughout the night by out-rebounding North Montgomery 35 to 22. The Bruins collected 11 offensive rebounds
“I know we got killed on the boards,” Arnold said. “We knew they were physical and we didn’t match it the whole night. You have to rebound the basketball and defend too. That is an effort thing and I don’t know where it was tonight.”
North Montgomery (11-10, 1-6) got off to a strong start thanks to a trio of seniors. Alex Wallace scored seven of his team high 16 points in the opening period followed by Preston Shaw and Jack Thompson who scored six points respectively.
The Chargers led 19-16 after one period.
Both teams battled even in the second quarter. No team led by more than five points in the quarter. North Montgomery got two free throws from Wallace and a basket from Shaw at the end of the quarter to send both teams into the locker rooms.
The disastrous third quarter saw the Chargers go stone cold from the field. North Montgomery only connected on 2-of-9 field goals. As cold as the Chargers were, the Bruins started heating up. Tri-West hit 10-of-16 field goals including three baskets from behind the three-point line. When the dust settled Tri-West led 60-42.
Arnold was able to see some positives in the game. He mentioned Wallace, Shaw and Thompson after the game. He also complimented junior Kolten Scrimmager who led the Chargers with five rebounds and also scored four points. Scrimmager has played mostly junior varsity this season but due to an injury to junior Zak Searle, he has seen more varsity time the last two games.
“Kolton got two baskets at the end of the third quarter that helped,” Arnold said. “He has been going hard and he just wants to go out and play.”
Arnold also complimented the Bruins after the game.
“Tri-West is better than their record and they have played good competition,” Arnold said. “They are a good basketball team.”
The Bruins had four players score in double figures. Taylor Gardner led the game with 19 points followed by Luke Robertson’s 14. Alex Corey contributed 12 points and Bryce Hendershot had a double-double with 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Scoring in double digits for the Chargers was Wallace with 16 points. Shaw and Thompson added 12 and 10 respectively.
Charger leading scorer Jaron Bradford was plagued by fouls throughout the game and only scored eight points - all in the fourth quarter.
North Montgomery will conclude their season Friday when they host Greencastle. Tri-West plays tonight at Hamilton Heights.
Tri-West 77, North Montgomery 60
NM 19 13 10 18 - 60
TW 16 19 25 17 - 77
North Montgomery (11-10, 1-6): Jaron Bradford 2 2-2 8, Kade Koble 0 4-6 4, Preston Shaw 5 0-1 12, Kolton Scrimmager 2 0-0 4, Alex Wallace 3 9-9 16, Keifer Carmean 1 4-5 6, Jack Thompson 5 0-0 10, Logan Kelly 0 0-0 0. Totals 18 19-23 60.
Tri-West (9-10, 4-3): Luke Robertson 4 6-12 14, Bryce Hendershot 3 4-6 10, Taylor Gardner 8 1-1 19, Nick Smith 3 0-0 7, Dylan Bear 3 2-2 8, Nick Chinn 1 2-3 5, Alex Corey 5 2-5 12, Garrett Cora 1 0-0 2 Totals 28 17-28 77.
3-point shooting: NM 5 (Wallace, Bradford 2, Shaw), TW4 (Gardner 2, Smith, Chinn).
Rebounding: NM 22 TW 35
Turnovers: NM 14, TW 12
