Jim Walker

jim.walker@irontontribune.com

 

ROCKSPRINGS — Facing the Associated Press seventh ranked team can appear daunting to most teams.

While the Trimble Tomcats showed why they are ranked among the state’s elite, the St Joseph Flyers weren’t going to go without a fight.

The Tomcats jumped out to a big first quarter lead, withstood a Flyers’ rally, then pulled away to beat St. Joseph 59-40 on Tuesday in the Division IV sectional finals at Meigs High School.

“Our kids never quit and they continued to battle,” said Flyers’ coach Kevin Sheridan.

Trimble took a 17-2 first quarter lead as Bryce Guthrie scored eight points and it was 19-2 at the start of the second quarter.

With Tyler Ward scoring 11 points in the second quarter, St. Joseph finally began to click and went on a 16-9 run to get within 28-18.

But the Tomcats scored six unanswered points to end the half with a 34-18 halftime lead and then opened the second half with eight straight points to make it 42-18.

The Flyers went cold again in the third quarter with just eight points and trailed 49-26. Ward scored six of the points including a 3-pointer.

Trimble built its biggest lead at 57-30 with 4:09 left in the game before the Flyers battled back and managed to outscore the Tomcats 14-10 in the final quarter.

Ward led the Flyers with a game-high 24 points to go with eight rebounds and four blocked shots. Zac McGraw and Chase Walters added six points each.

Trimble (19-3) had three players in double figures. Guthrie scored 18 while Justice Jenkins had 16 and Randy Hixon 12.

The game marked the final appearance for seniors Tyler Ward, Judge Williams and Seth Kelley. Sheridan praised their efforts and leadership throughout the season.

“The three seniors did a good job for us all year. They had to adjust to a whole new system in a short amount of time and they handled the transition very well,” said Sheridan.

St. Joseph 2 16 8 14 = 40

Trimble 17 17 15 10 = 59

ST. JOSEPH (6-18): Judge Williams 0 0 2-2 2, Isaac Whaley 0 0 0-0 0, Clay Willis 0 0 0-0 0, Tyler Ward 7 2 4-8 24, Chase Walters 1 0 4-4 6, Zac McGraw 3 0 0-1 6, Tre Neal 0 0 0-0 0, Seth Kelley 0 0 0-0 0, Daniel Hodges 1 0 0-0 2, Isaac Walker 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 14-47 10-14 40. 3-point goals: 2-16. Rebounds: 33 (Ward 8). Assists: 5. Steals: 6. Blocks: 7 (Ward 4). Turnovers: 22. Fouls: 22. Fouled out: Williams, Walters.

TRIMBLE (19-3): Cody Jones 2 0 0-2 4, Randy Hixon 1 1 7-8 12, Kamron Curry 2 0 1-2 5, Bryce Guthrie 9 0 0-1 18, James Shenborn 0 0 0-0 0, Justice Jenkins 3 1 7-8 16, Tyler Sayre 0 0 0-2 0, Randy Richards 0 0 0-0 0, Tyler Slack 1 0 0-0 2, Mitchell Campbell 1 0 0-0 2, Dillon Carano 0 0 0-0 0, Ayden Hodge 0 0 0-0 0, Colton Coey 0 0 0-0 0. Totals: 21-57 15-23 59. 3-point goals: 2-10. Rebounds: 43 (Guthrie 8, Slack 8). Assists: 9 (Jenkins 3). Steals: 14 (Jones 5). Blocks: 9. Turnovers: 16. Fouls: 16. Fouled out: None.