Sports
Belpre Beats Trimble for Second Straight Victory
By: Nick Henthorn
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Basketball is a ‘What have you done for me lately?’ type of game. Past success is not guaranteed to last; momentum comes and goes. The Trimble Tomcats found that out Tuesday against the Belpre Golden Eagles, losing 69-59 in an outing which may serve as a turning point for both teams.
Undefeated through their first seven games, the Tomcats have wavered in their past two, dropping a road meeting against Eastern prior to their home contest against the Golden Eagles. On the other side of the coin, Belpre seems primed to shake off a 4-8 start after coming out victorious in their last two games.
The game’s opening minutes set the tone for what was to come, as both teams proved capable of running half-court offense and running the break. Belpre began to build a lead through deft passing, breaking Trimble’s full-court press and getting easy baskets while working the ball around the perimeter in the half-court, turning holes in the Tomcat’s 2-3 zone into good 3-point looks. Golden Eagle guard Connor Baker was especially impressive in the early goings, burying two of his three 3-pointers in the first frame.
Quarter two saw the Tomcats flex their own passing chops, slicing up Belpre with baseline cuts to the basket. Trimble was able to get beneath the Golden Eagles’ zone and anticipate each other’s movements, fitting passes into tight windows. Seven Tomcats were in the scoring column as opposed to five of Belpre’s players, indicative of their great ball movement and unselfish decision making.
Despite the productive offense, Belpre was able to use their size to create extra scoring opportunities, securing nine offensive rebounds on the night, with four of them coming from Collin Alloway, who scored all six of his points off put-backs. As the first half ended, the score stood 41-31 in favor of the Golden Eagles.
All the offense resulted in some gaudy offensive stats, as both teams had players score over 20 points. For Belpre, Baker poured in 25 points on a ridiculous 84.6 percent shooting, while big man Jeremiah Stitt recorded 15 of his own, including a two-handed jam in the fourth quarter. For Trimble, Brayden Weber matched the game-high with 25 points, and Jeremiah Brown made all four of his long balls en route to 14 points.
Down double digits, Howie Caldwell’s squad did all they could to speed up the Golden Eagles, feeding off the home crowd and forcing Belpre into ten turnovers on the game. Trimble did capitalize on their takeaways in transition, bringing the game within one point on multiple occasions.
However, Belpre was able to whether the storm thanks to continued success on the glass and timely assists from big man Nick Godfrey, who had all four of his helpers in the second half.
The Tomcats still have little reason to panic. They remain in first place in the conference, and will stay at home next game against the Waterford Wildcats. As for the Golden Eagles, they will have to keep working hard to dig themselves out of their early-season hole, next playing the Southern Tornadoes.