GREENVILLE – Troy’s Trojans invaded Darke County Friday evening and returned home with a 52-34 Miami Valley League win over Greenville’s Green Wave. In front of a loud crowd that was in attendance for “Youth Basketball Recognition Night” the Trojans pulled away late in what was a physical contest between two old rivals.
Coach Mark Hess’ ball club jumped out to a 13-5 lead after one quarter, taking advantage of eight Greenville turnovers while the Wave could only convert two of ten shots from the floor. The Wave settled down in the second period and played better ball to cut the margin to 23-16 at intermission. For all of the bumping and banging going on, there was only one foul shot attempted in the first half, and that was a Troy miss. The Trojans put up thirty-one shots in the first half while committing only three miscues compared to Greenville’s twenty tries and eleven turnovers.
The Wave drew within 27-21 early in the third stanza before Troy went on a 9-1 run to open their largest lead of the game at 36-22 with 1:16 remaining. A Josh Baker three finally stopped the bleeding for the Green and White as the third quarter ended with Troy up 38-25.
Two quick Greenville baskets closed the deficit to 38-29 with 7:15 showing on the clock giving the home crowd reason for hope, but Troy junior Josh Murphy drilled a long three and his teammates took over from there as the Trojans went on their second run of the evening 14-2 to break the game open and go up 52-31 with 2:46 left in regulation.
Troy’s 6’6” senior Isaac Burns paced the Trojans’ attack with 16 points, including several dunks, while 6’3” senior Bryce Haught and 6’4” junior Kardel Winfield added 10 each. Unofficially the Trojans were 21 of 54 from the field and 5 of 15 from beyond the arc while committing only nine turnovers and going 4 of 5 from the foul line.
Juniors David Conway and Johnny Barr had 8 and 7 points, respectively, to lead Greenville as the Wave connected on 13 of 43 attempts while making 3 of 10 three-point tries. From the charity stripe, Coach Matt Hamilton’s squad converted 5 of 11 and committed 24 turnovers in what has been a season-long problem area for the Wave.
Troy improves to 7-5 in MVL play, 7-6 overall, and swings back into action Saturday night at Miamisburg before returning home to face undefeated Vandalia-Butler on Tuesday. Greenville falls to 1-11 in the league, 1-13 overall, and goes to Xenia Tuesday, the first of three games next week, before having two home games, Friday against Stebbins and Saturday versus Versailles on “Hall of Fame” night.
The Wave youth basketball program was recognized at halftime of the junior varsity game, with players comprising three levels. Japheth Bear heads the first and second graders as they learn the basic skills of basketball in a fun environment. Third and fourth-grade boys are coached by Amber Short, Kyle Fox, and Kayla Anguiano and emphasize 3-on-3 play. The fifth and sixth-grade program consists of an in-house developmental league and two travel teams that compete in the Dayton Metro League. The fifth graders are coached by Ramon Quintor, Ben Foreman, and Sean Miracle while the sixth graders are under the direction of Patrick McMahon. Hopefully Wave hoop fortunes will continue to improve through the efforts of these volunteers and youngsters.
