Trinity ends Laurel Highlands’ three-game win streak
WASHINGTON – Laurel Highlands fell into an early hole in its Section 2-AAAA game at Trinity Friday night and kept trying to climb out. The Hillers were there to step on the Mustangs’ hands each time they got close to the top, however, sending them reeling back.
Justin Adley and Jon Weiss scored 22 points apiece and Trinity never trailed in earning a much-needed 87-74 victory. Adley also had three of the Hillers’ seven 3-pointers.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak and dropped Laurel Highlands to 8-9 overall and 4-3 in section play, while Trinity improved to 11-7 and 3-4.
The Hillers also won at Laurel Highlands earlier in the season, 61-47, but would’ve fallen to 2-5 in the section with a loss on Friday.
“No question this was a big game for us,” Trinity coach Joe Dunn said.
Weiss scored the game’s first bucket and the teams then countered each other with the score being knotted at 2, 4, 6 and finally at 8-8. Weiss then converted a three-point play to make it 11-8 and the Hillers never trailed again.
Trinity led 21-14 after the first period and 30-22 midway through the second. The Mustang reeled off baskets by Brian John, Paul Briczinski and Andre Ramsey to pull within two, and just missed a chance to take the lead when a 3-pointer by Ramsey hit both sides of the rim and came out.
The Hillers regrouped and closed the half with a 10-2 run to go up 40-30.
Trinity pushed its lead up to 14 early in the third period, but Laurel Highlands stormed back with a 15-3 burst to make it 49-45. Five different LH players scored in the spurt with Briczinski dropping in a pair of buckets.
Once again the Hillers fired back, this time with a 10-point explosion that included treys by Tim Drakeley and Adley.
Trinity led 63-48 after three periods and bumped the margin up to 20 points, 73-53, early in the fourth.
The Mustangs continued to claw and scratch their way back into the game, though. A 9-2 run that included five points by Corey Nesser and a 3-pointer by Ramsey made it 75-62 and Laurel Highlands got as close as 11, but the Hillers held on.
Nesser led the Mustangs with 18 points and nine assists, and also had four steals and four rebounds. Ramsey contributed 16 points, eight boards, three steals and three assists.
“These guys are an emotional bunch and I hoped they wouldn’t quit,” LH coach Mark John said. “They just have too much competitiveness in them. Some of them are two- and three-sport stars, and I think that carries over.”
“They have excellent ballhandlers, and they never quit,” Dunn said of the Mustangs. “They’re a very good team and they kept coming. One of the things I like to talk about to my players is the ebb and flow every game has, and how you have to react to it, and our kids did a nice job of that tonight.”
John, while pleased with his team’s refusal to cave in, was not satisfied with the Mustangs’ defense.
“When I look up at the scoreboard and see 87 up there, that tells me I didn’t do a very good job of getting them ready, defensively, for this game,” said John, attempting to absorb the blame. “We’re going to try to do what we have to do to fix it, because if we’re going anywhere, it’ll be with defense.”
Offensively, the Mustangs had a balanced scoring attack. Following Nesser and Ramsey in the scoring column were Kenny Riddell, who had 12 points and eight rebounds, and Briczinski, who played another solid game inside with 11 points, nine boards, five steals and three assists. Brian John chipped in with nine points and four rebounds.
J.T. Stefanik, who put up the Mustangs’ first four points and then didn’t score again, fouled out with 45 seconds left, and John and Nesser soon followed.
The Hillers also put four players in double figures. In addition to Adley and Weiss, Drakeley hit three 3-pointers on his way to 17 points, and center Ean Miller dropped in 12.
Both teams continue section play on Tuesday with Laurel Highlands hosting Peters Township and Trinity hosting Ringgold.