Sports
Hixson’s 53-Point Explosion Clinches TVC-Hocking For Trimble
By: Paul Roth
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Randy. Hixson.
A career high 53 points for the senior in his last game as he led the Trimble Tomcats over the Waterford Wildcats 74-60 Wednesday night.
Originally, the game was to be played February 22nd, but had to be postponed due to flooding. The playoffs were looming and the chances of a makeup were up in the air until an unexpected early playoff exit by both Waterford and Trimble allowed for the date to be set: March 7th.
Travis Pottmeyer predicted a win on Hardwood Heroes, it was Trimble’s senior night, and it was the final game of his career, but Randy Hixson wasn’t fazed. Pre-game he was smiling and soaking it all in.
Or maybe in hindsight he knew he was going to give the people a show and go out with a bang.
When asked what the game plan was for the game, Hixson said “(Coach Howie Caldwell) did just tell me to fire away.”
And fire he did.
Trimble jumped out to a quick 6 point lead, cleaning up on the defensive boards and getting to the rim with ease. It looked as if the highly anticipated matchup between these two Hocking powerhouses could have been a runaway game by Trimble.
But Waterford finally took the lid off the basket and came storming back. Travis Pottmeyer went to work as he found the bottom of the net both inside and out.
The first quarter was all Hixson, Pottmeyer, and Wyatt Lang. Pottmeyer and Lang combined for Waterford’s 21 and Hixson had 19 of Trimble’s 22 as the Tomcats took a 1 point lead into the second after a Randy Hixson buzzer beater.
The second quarter started with a simmer as neither team scored for nearly 2 minutes. Pottmeyer finally ended the drought for both teams as he sank a three before Hixson took it right back with a 3 of his own.
The two teams traded points and with it they traded the lead. The slow quarter kept things tight though as both teams put up 10 and Trimble kept their 1 point lead going into halftime up 32-31.
At halftime Hixson had 26 of Trimble’s 32 and Pottmeyer had 15 of Waterford’s 31.
The third quarter started off tight again as Trimble pushed their lead to 2 and Waterford kept pace with them every step of the way.
But then Waterford started to fall off. They couldn’t hit shots and Trimble continued to show heart over height and come up with rebounds.
Trimble pushed their lead to 8 and took a 52 to 44 into the final frame.
Randy Hixson’s career high coming into the game was 40 points. He matched that through three quarters.
The final quarter left everyone either on the edge of their seat, or up on their feet.
Waterford cut Trimble’s lead to 2 with 4:20 to go but from there the Wildcats fell back into a similar slump they saw in the 3rd.
They couldn’t find the bottom of the basket, sometimes corralling 3 offensive rebounds and putting up 4 shots in a single possession, but to no avail.
The Tomcats pulled away quickly and never looked back. Hixson hit the 50 point mark with just under two minutes left and Trimble had a 12 point lead by that point.
Hixson checked out with 25 seconds to go and was embraced by coach Howie Caldwell who gave him a big hug before he went down the line hugging each of his coaches and teammates.
Hixson finished with 53 points, the Tomcats won 74-60, and Trimble took home the TVC-Hocking title.
While Hixson nearly outscored Waterford all on his own, he made sure his teammates got all the credit they deserved.
“I have to give my teammates a whole lot of credit because they wanted me to do it. It wasn’t like they were upset about it. They were giving me the ball whenever. They just wanted me to have a good game. They knew what it meant. They just did everything. They got me open, they got me looks, they got me the ball. They did everything for me,” said Hixson.
The win clinched the TVC-Hocking championship for the Trimble Tomcats as they will have a huge hole to fill next year with their lone senior departing.