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Trinity’s defense turns over win against Ringgold

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Already playoff bound, the Trinity High School boys basketball team looked to stay sharp as they closed out section play Friday night against the visiting Ringgold Rams.

Mission accomplished.

If the Hillers had any distractions from the pregame festivities while starting four seniors on Senior Night they sure didn’t show.

Trinity jumped all over Ringgold from the opening tip, using a stingy defensive effort to cruise to an 82-58 Class 5-A Section 1 win.

“This was big and I am really happy for our seniors,” said Trinity head coach Tim Tessmer. “They represented themselves well on the last section game on their home floor. These were the guys who were with me when we started this thing and they are the guys that have helped get this program back to where it is.”

Whether it was a full-court press or half-court defense, Trinity (9-3, 13-8) made a habit of getting hands on basketballs, forcing 38 Ringgold turnovers.

Those turnovers helped the Hillers play at a fast pace and get their transition game going.

“I knew we forced a lot of turnovers,” Tessmer said. “We have been trying to stress that when you get to this time of year, you have to be able to defend. Early in the season our defense slipped when we didn’t have our offense going, but I think they are starting to get that message.”

It wasn’t just the effort on defense that helped the Hillers as Trinity had a balanced offensive attack.

Joey Koroly led five Trinity players in double figures with 16 points.

Saul Wells (13 points), Robert Nelson (11), Jaden Nelson (10) and Adam Raggi (10) also finished in double figures, and 14 of 15 Hillers found their way into the scoring column.

“Normally, when we play well we have three, four, five guys in double figures,” said Tessmer.

The Hillers outscored the Rams 19-8 in the first quarter.

Raggi knocked down a pair of three-pointers and the Hillers ran the pick-and-roll to perfection with Koroly finding an open Wells for easy layups.

Wells scored nine of his 13 points in the opening eight minutes as Trinity started fast and never took their foot off the gas.

“A couple of our seniors have been chopping at the bit to get their opportunity,” Tessmer said. “It’s a difficult situation sometimes when you are as deep as we are to get everyone minutes. They were ready to go from the opening tip.”

Things got tougher for Ringgold (4-8, 9-13) in the second quarter as Trinity opened with a 16-6 run. Jaden Nelson scored eight of his 10 points during the spurt.

“We had more turnovers than minutes in the game,” Ringgold head coach Phil Pergola said. “You can’t beat anyone like that.”

The Rams were led in scoring by Anthony Pampena with 13 points. Dakota Browning also finished in double figures with 12.

The second half was more of the same for the Hillers as they extended their lead to 30 midway through the third quarter.

Trinity will close out the regular season Monday when they host crosstown rival Washington.

“They are ready,” Tessmer said. “We don’t have to tell them to get excited for that one.”

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