By Dan Truttschel
Correspondent
The first half last week against visiting Evansville was smooth sailing for the East Troy High School boys basketball team.
That trend didn’t quite continue into the last two quarters – but the Trojans had just enough to hang on.
East Troy jumped out to a 37-23 halftime lead and then had to hang on for dear life in a 59-57 Rock Valley Conference win. The victory improved the Trojans to 6-4 overall and 5-1 in conference play.
The Trojans opened play last week with a 59-50 win Jan. 6 at Edgerton.
“We probably couldn’t have asked for any better of a start,” East Troy coach Darryl Rayfield said. “We just jumped all over them (Evansville). It seemed like it was Edgerton all over again, up big and hang on.
“It felt like our guys just seem to concentrate early more often. Our first halves at times are actually a thing of beauty. We just have to continue to play smart and become more efficient.”
Evansville roared back in the second half and outscored the Trojans 34-22 the last two quarters. A desperation half-court shot was off the mark at the buzzer to secure the win for East Troy.
Rayfield said his team struggled on both ends of the floor in the second half.
“We missed eight straight shots and turned the ball over four straight possessions in the fourth quarter to let them back in the game and forgot about defending,” he said.
“As good as it was early, it was equally that ugly late. Someone has to step up and have some basketball smarts. Five beats one every time as we move forward.”
Putting together four strong quarters will be a must as the season rolls along, and definitely once the post-season begins, Rayfield added.
“Playing with big leads and finishing games off is (important),” he said. “Being up 20-plus points two games in a row and barely hanging on doesn’t last very long when tournaments and championships are on the line.
“It’s like dogs that chase cars, they don’t last very long.”
Connor Mitchell led the Trojans with 14 points, followed by Joseph Ciriacks, Will Iloncaie and Justin Growel each with 11.
The story was similar in the nine-point win over Edgerton last Tuesday night.
East Troy led 35-23 at halftime before the Tide cut that deficit to 45-40 heading into the fourth quarter. The Trojans enjoyed a 14-10 advantage in that period to hang on for the win.
“We came out and played well on the road,” Rayfield said. “We were running well in transition, everyone was finding the open guy and shots were going in.
“Poor free-throw shooting almost came back to bite us. We just need to close out games better, and part of it is playing smart basketball.”
Mitchell led the way with 17 points, followed by Iloncaie with 13, Ciriacks with 10 and Matt Kaminski with seven. Rayfield also lauded the play of senior Chato Garcia off the bench.
East Troy was back in action Thursday night at Palmyra-Eagle. The Trojans travel to Chicago this weekend for a game against Chicago Marshall High School and return home next Tuesday, Jan. 20, to face visiting Beloit Turner.
