Trojans host Evansville tonight
By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
There has been one constant when it comes to the East Troy High School boys basketball team and its non-conference schedule.
The Trojans won’t shy away from competition.
In less than a week, East Troy faced off with three perennial powerhouse programs and came away with a 1-2 record to begin 2015 at 4-4 overall.
East Troy split two games at the Pewaukee Tournament last week, as it lost 71-55 to Marquette, but defeated Catholic Memorial 60-56. The Trojans ended the week with a 59-46 loss Jan. 3 at Stoughton.
Even with the two losses, there were plenty of positives, East Troy coach Darryl Rayfield said.
“I think we are in a really good spot right now,” he said. “Playing tough games really helped us evaluate our team. You find out who is ‘all in.’
“I like this (East Troy) team a lot. It has an edge to it. They are starting to play with a chip on their shoulders. I wouldn’t count this group out yet.”
Stoughton held a 15-7 lead after the first quarter and extended that advantage to 27-18 by halftime.
East Troy chipped away a bit in the second half and trailed by just six points at 45-39 heading into the last eight minutes.
But that’s when Stoughton pulled away, as the Vikings outscored East Troy 14-7 to close out the win.
The Trojans trailed by just three points with three minutes left, but missed their next five shots from the field.
Stoughton was led by 6-foot-8 Nick McGlynn, a Drake University recruit, who had 24 points.
“(He) was just not going to let his team lose,” Rayfield said. “They were relentless on both ends of the floor and a very good zone (defense) team. Turnovers and bad shots lead to losses against good teams.
“They played better than us. They are better right now, but the gap is closing.”
Joseph Ciriacks led East Troy with 14 points, followed by Matt Kaminski with 10 and Justin Growel with seven.
The game with Catholic Memorial was back and forth from the start.
East Troy led 32-30 at halftime and 47-46 after three quarters. The Trojans outscored Memorial by three points the last eight minutes to hang on for the win.
Kaminski had a team-high 21 points to lead the way, followed by Ciriacks with 16 and Connor Mitchell and Growel each with eight.
“(That game) was another very competitive opportunity we were looking for and got it,” Rayfield said. “We came out, made shots and took care of the ball.
“In our losses, it has been three-minute stretches of lack of concentration that leads to bad basketball. (Catholic Memorial) is physically going to overwhelm teams, so staying tough minded is crucial. That was what we did against (them).”
Marquette used a 23-11 third quarter to pull away in the 16-point win to open the two-day tournament in Pewaukee.
Ciriacks led the way with 13 points, followed by Mitchell with 12 and Jake Remsza with eight.
“We were awesome defensively, but have to take care of the ball,” Rayfield said. “Justin Growel and Will (Iloncaie) have really defended well. I’m just so very proud of how they challenge the people they are guarding. It is becoming contagious.”
East Troy took a 3-1 Rock Valley Conference record into a road game Tuesday night at Edgerton. Results were unavailable by press time. The Trojans close their week Friday night when they host Evansville at 7:15 p.m.
