By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
Opponents of the East Troy boys basketball team have tried just about everything to try and slow down the Trojans’ vaunted offensive attack.
Visiting Palmyra-Eagle went with the keep-away approach when the two teams met last week in a Rock Valley Conference contest.
It seemed like a good idea – but wasn’t nearly enough to make a difference.
The Trojans jumped out to a 13-2 lead after the first quarter and built it to a 25-point bulge by halftime en route to an easy 55-26 victory. East Troy improved to 4-0 overall and 4-0 in the RVC with the win.
East Troy coach Daryl Rayfield said Palmyra tried to stall as much as it could to keep the ball out of his team’s hands.
“They had the stall rule for four quarters,” he said. “They held the ball. I thought we played really well. We had good patience.
“They really held the ball. We played some really good man-to-man (defense) and tried to get a good workout in. I thought we got out of (the game) all that we could.”
East Troy didn’t allow Palmyra to reach double digits until the fourth quarter when the Panthers scored 15 points. But by then, the outcome had been decided.
Nate Dodge led the way with 16 points, seven assists and five steals. Matt Kaminski and Brett Prahl added 10 each, followed by Jacob Growel and Alex Prahl with six.
Rayfield continues to be pleased with Growel’s steady play after he joined the lineup last week. Growel, who moved to East Troy from Lake Geneva this year, had been sidelined for several weeks with an injury.
“He really has a good feel for the game,” Rayfield said. “He’s been a great floor leader.”
Trojans roll past Spartans
After a relatively tight first half, East Troy took control in the second with a 31-21 advantage in a 68-51 RVC win over visiting McFarland last Tuesday night.
The Trojans led 37-30 at halftime before they began to pull away in the third quarter.
“Defensively, we really competed,” Rayfield said. “We didn’t shoot real well. Teams are really coming to play us. We hung in defensively.”
The difference in the second half was a simple one, Rayfield said.
“We started making shots,” he said. “We went on a little run. (McFarland) started panicking a little bit.
“They took some quick tough ones, and we took some quick easy ones and really took over the game.”
Dodge led the way with 23 points, followed by Brett Prahl with 19 and Alex Prahl with eight.
