The Penney Hornets held down Trenton’s potent offense to just six points in the final quarter, as Hamilton surged to a 55-45 victory over the Bulldogs, in part of doubleheader action on Thursday night, broadcast on Hot Country Z 101.7.
Junior forward LaTroy Harper led the Hornets offense with 22 points, while senior point guard Jaran Richman added 19, as Penney finishes the regular season at 20-5. Trenton, with three of its losses coming against Penney, finishes the year at 17-8. Connor Cotton had 17 points, with Corbyn Guile and Spencer Harris adding 14 points each to account for all of the Bulldog points.
Penney will be a #2 seed and Trenton a #3 seed in the upcoming Class 3, District 16 basketball tournament at Lathrop High School. If both the Hornets and Bulldogs get through Tuesday’s quarterfinal rounds, a fourth meeting between the non-conference rivals would occur on Thursday night at 7:30.
The Trenton Lady Bulldogs let a 15-point, mid-third quarter lead evaporate against the pesky Penney Lady Hornets, but, in much the same storyline as the Lawson Tournament title game, the fifth-ranked squad in the state (Class 3 MBCA) had a late-game surge, led by Whitley Richman and Ainsley Tolson, to survive the upset bid, 41-31.
Trenton, finishing the regular season at 22-3, had 17 points from Tolson, while Richman added nine, including two critical fourth-quarter baskets. Penney, now 10-14 on the season, had nine points each from Tegan Bruce and McKauley Prothero, while Nora Ford had eight points.
Trenton is seeded #1 and Penney #5 for this week’s District 16 tournament at Lathrop, leaving open the possibility of a third meeting between Brian Upton’s and Jordan Richman’s teams in Wednesday night’s semifinal round. Trenton will play Bishop LeBlond on Monday night at 9 (Hot Country Z 101.7) and Penney duels with South Harrison at 7:30 in the quarterfinal round.
Other scores from Thursday, February 16, 2017 were:
GIRLS:
Boonville 55, Chillicothe 50 (2 OT’s)
Worth County 53, South Harrison 51 (OT)
North Harrison 56, Milan 50
Grundy R-5 53, Pattonsburg 28
Braymer 44, Polo 38
Plattsburg 47, Rock Port 42
Benton 58, LeBlond 27
Lafayette 43, Smithville 37
Savannah 43, Maryville 36
Novinger 60, Brashear 39
Northwestern 49, North Shelby 49
Laredo 24, Spickard 16
BOYS:
Worth County 67, South Harrison 56
Gilman City 67, Albany 50
Plattsburg 72, Rock Port 52
Lawson 78, Brookfield 46
Pattonsburg 62, Grundy R-5 34
Milan 55, North Harrison 27
Braymer 56, Polo 39
Novinger 62, Brashear 22
Northwestern 89, North Shelby 69
Laredo 46, Spickard 26
