Sports
Trimble Beats Rival Belpre in Triple Overtime
By: Andrew Hines
Posted on:
It took three overtimes Tuesday night in Glouster for Trimble to cap off its regular season with a victory against the Belpre Golden Eagles 87-83.
It was a back-and-forth shootout in overtime. Neither team had more than a five-point lead throughout the first two overtimes. Trimble finally ran with the lead in the third overtime. By then, you could tell that the Golden Eagles were too tired, as they were playing sloppy. They were increasing their fouls, which eventually helped Trimble win the game.
It was an incredible game for the Tomcat seniors, especially Justice Jenkins and Bryce Guthrie. Jenkins had 22 points and 6 rebounds and sunk the layup that sent the Tomcats into overtime. Guthrie had a double-double as he finished with 26 points and 13 rebounds.
“I don’t think it was just important for those two [Jenkins and Guthrie], I think it was important for our entire program,” said head coach Howie Caldwell, “I know they scored over twenty, but you know, to get into three overtimes and so forth, I don’t care if they scored one point, or two, each one of those points were very important.”
Each team was fighting for rebounds the entire game. There was a fight for the ball after every shot. There was a combined 49 rebounds during this game, with both teams having 20 plus offensively and defensively.
Despite 25 turnovers, Belpre managed to stay with Trimble and fight back each and every possession. Deijon Bedgood and Tavian Miller were two of the standout performers for Belpre. Besides eight turnovers alone, Bedgood had 21 points and 7 rebounds, on the night and Miller had 22 points.
Trimble officially has a hand on the TVC-Hocking title. They have to wait to see what the outcome of the Waterford and Wahama game is. If Waterford loses, then Trimble has sole possession of the title heading into postseason play.
“I always had the belief that the first game of any tournament was probably the most difficult because it’s a different scenario, different feeling and so forth, but I think our kids will be okay,” Caldwell said.
Trimble’s first postseason matchup will be against St. Joe at Meigs High School on February 23rd at 6:15 p.m.