Trinity looks inside, finds win over Wash High
After leading Wash High by nine points at halftime Saturday evening, Trinity’s offense stalled for only five points in the third quarter, and the beginning of the fourth quarter was just as stagnant.
The Prexies were mounting a comeback, coming within two points with 1:12 left in the game.
Trinity’s Joey Koroly was then fouled, making both free throws, and got a turnover on the next possession. He immediately threw the ball upcourt to a wide-open Zach Ecker, who threw down a backboard-shaking, two-handed slam dunk to seal the 47-41 win for the Hillers in the Chuckie Mahoney Classic at Burgettstown High School.
Jacob Calvin Meyer
Staff writer
jmeyer@observer-reporter.com
“I thought we just made a more concerted effort to get the ball inside more (in the fourth quarter),” said Ecker, who finished the game with 13 points. “That dunk just felt great to get up like that and get a breakaway like that. I was happy I could get the chance to send it home, and it was a nice exclamation mark to end the game.”
Jacob Calvin Meyer/Observer-Reporter
Ecker, a 6-7 senior forward, scored seven of Trinity’s 13 fourth-quarter points to stave off the Wash High comeback.
Trinity head coach Tim Tessmer said Ecker, along with his twin brother Jeff, who is also 6-7, are able to change the game in every facet of the game. The Ecker twins both had blocked several shots and brought down most of the team’s rebounds.
“We always talk about trying to grind that ball inside to our bigs,” Tessmer said. “Zach and Jeff have both worked so hard to get to the point where they are. To see Zach have that success tonight was nice, and capping it off with a dunk was pretty exciting.”
Zach Ecker said beating a rival like Wash High is always a little bit nicer than any other non-section win.
“We’ve seen these guys forever in summer leagues, fall leagues and we’re crosstown rivals,” Ecker said. “It’s great to be able to play them. They always come out and play competitively, so to beat them always feels great.”
The game started how most games for Trinity go, with Koroly, the team’s best player, scoring the first five points, as the Hillers ended the first quarter with a 12-10 lead.
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The senior guard, who led the Hillers with 17 points, then hit two three-pointers in the second quarter, along with 10 points from the rest of his team, to take a 28-19 lead at halftime.
Wash High started to mount a comeback in the second half, as the Prexies brought the game within four points entering the fourth quarter.
Leading the Prexies in the second half, and getting them within two points with about a minute remaining, was junior forward Dan Ethridge, who used his 6-4 size and athleticism to finish at the rim in a multitude of ways.
“He’s come on to be a scorer for us, and we have to recognize that more,” said Wash High head coach Ron Faust. “I think he has to recognize that more, too. We do have difficulty at times scoring, and he has to take that challenge on and be a leader on the offensive end for us.”
Tessmer said planning for a player like Ethridge, who scored 18 points for the Prexies, is difficult.
“I thought we made him take tough shots all night, but he’s got good touch around the rim,” Tessmer said. “He’s shifty and he can get in and out of tight spots. He’s a heck of a player.
Along with Zach Ecker’s fourth quarter play was a crucial three-pointer from Dylan Kern to hold off the Ethridge-led Prexies.
“We talk all the time about shooting with confidence,” Tessmer said. “We haven’t shot the ball well all year, but we’re a decent shooting team and we don’t shy away from shooting the three ball. I tell the guys that if they’re out there they are expected to go out and make the right play, and the right play there was to shoot that three. Once we saw that he had his feet set, we all knew it was going down.”
Faust said his goal for the team is to find more players to move into the rotation, so not to tire the starters.
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“We hope to before the season is over and extend our bench some,” Faust said. “We have some people on the floor for too many minutes. Hopefully, we’ll have some younger players step up.”
Holding Trinity to a season-low 47 points is a positive, but Faust said that’s a necessity for his team to succeed.
“Overall we did a good job on defense,” he said. “We have to do that with the challenges we’re having on offense right now.”