Published: December 19, 2007 12:04 am            

BOYS BB: Madison-Grant withstands TC’s rally

Trojans storm back to tie in final minute before falling 67-65

FAIRMOUNT — With 4:57 remaining in the first quarter at Madison-Grant Tuesday night, the host squad was shredding Tri-Central at will. The Argylls had hit five straight shots and the next sound heard was Trojan coach Jeff Layden calling a timeout and bellowing at his players to “quit being soft.”

He was not smiling.

From that point and through the first half, the Argylls had things their way en route to a commanding 34-17 lead at halftime. At that point, Madison-Grant was shooting a torrid 54 percent from the field and the Trojans were gasping at 28 percent. A sixth straight Trojan loss seemed imminent.

Then came a surprising and most satisfying second half for the Trojans. Madison-Grant (4-2) went on to win 67-65, but only after weathering a charge from the Trojans, who tied the game in the final minute only to see the hosts finish ahead.

“We gave them too many easy shots in the first half,” Layden said, “but the last half we got more pressure on the ball and made it tough for them to get the ball inside. We played hesitant at the start and were not aggressive at all. We’re young but these kids have to learn they have to come out with a chip on their shoulder. We have to change our mentality.”

Tri-Central made the game interesting by tightening up its defense, allowing Madison-Grant just six third-quarter shots. At the same time, TC went 9-for-16 from the field to close the gap to 47-38 entering the final quarter. Things were definitely looking up for the visitors.

Trojan help came from everywhere. Justin Huddleston, who led TC with 22 points, went on a 14-point last-half binge with eight in the third quarter; freshman Robby Howell and Brock Tew hit two buckets apiece; and Austin Burton hit a trey and had a deuce as TC cut into the lead. The Trojans still trailed by nine, but there was a scent of good things just ahead.

Tri-Central battled back, pressed all over the floor and had the lead down to 55-50 with 4:18 left in the game. This coming when Justin Huddleston hit three free throws after being fouled while attempting a 3-pointer. But the Argylls hung tough.

The lead was back up to seven points for Madison-Grant thanks to Kurt Russell and Jordon Cornelius, but Jordan Huddleston had a big three-point play to cut the lead to 59-55. Cornelius struck again but Tew went coast-to-coast for a layup to make the score 61-57 with 49 seconds left.

The Trojans had to foul and Marcus Ellingwood hit two freebies to make it a 63-57 ballgame with :47 left. Russell then fouled Justin Huddleston on another trey and the TC shooter hit all three to make it a three-point game.

The Argyll lead was 64-61 with :35 left and 65-63 after Tew hit another basket with :24 to play. The Trojans got a break when Ellingwood missed two freebies and Jordan Huddleston hit from underneath with :14 left to tie the game at 65.

The Madison-Grant clincher came when Ellingwood hit two clutch free throws with 3.3 seconds left. The Trojans had one last, desperate effort but Jordan Huddleston’s 40-footer wasn’t close and the Argylls emerged with the victory.

“I thought Burton and Justin Huddleston did a good job defensively the last half, and Tew and Howell played very well for us,” Layden said. “But the thing is we had too many 3s the first half — we hit 1-of-10 — but the last half we moved the ball better and hit 4 of 6. Games like this are going to make us better.”

Jordan Huddleston and Brock Tew had a dozen each for TC. Burton and Howell added eight each. Ellingwood led Madison-Grant with 21, Cornelius had 16 and Russell 11.

The Trojans (0-6) face Clinton Central in the opening round of the CC Holiday Tournament Dec. 28.

        

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