BASKETBALL: Tattnall, Gatewood hold off challenge to deny Trinity boys first win

Getting your Trinity Audio player ready...

A GREAT FIRST EIGHT: The fired-up Trinity bench (left) reacts after Asher Evans (5, right) banked in a short jumper to give Trinity a 14-12 lead with about a minute left in the first quarter. The Crusaders stayed right with Gatewood for the game’s first eight minutes-plus, in one of their strongest opening quarters to date, though the Gators would start chomping from 3, and took control of the game by the half/CLAY REYNOLDS

The Trinity Crusaders played a pair of boys-only games earlier this week, Monday at Tattnall Square and Tuesday to open the region 6-AA schedule against Gatewood. Unfortunately, they fell 66-49 to the Trojans and 68-60 to the Gators to remain winless on the year.

Monday’s road game was the Crusaders’ first game back at full strength since before Christmas. Unfortunately, the complete roster was not enough to overcome a deep and talented Trojan squad.

Tattnall jumped out to a 20-11 lead after one quarter and the deficit ballooned to 42-20 at the half.

The Crusaders played much better after the half. The third quarter was a deadlock at 11, but they still trailed 53-31.

Asher Evans had a big fourth quarter with 12 points to nearly outscore the Trojans’ entire squad. Trinity had 18 as a team in the period, but it was too little too late.

Evans was the only Crusader in double digits with 20.

Antone Johnson led Tattnall with 21 and Ty Hunnicutt added 19.

Trinity opened region play on Tuesday, hosting Gatewood and the GIAAs leading scorer, Matt Allen.

The Crusaders seemed to channel the momentum of Monday’s solid second half early on.

Ben Castro-Poveda hit two 3-pointers in the first few minutes as the two squads went back and forth, and Trinity held a slight lead of 18-16 after one.

‘HE’S A SHOOTER!’: Gatewood defenders didn’t heed the warnings of head coach Don Keiser (in back) about Trinity’s Ben Castro-Poveda (3), who made them pay for leaving him open on a couple of triples that bolstered Trinity’s strong start in the first quarter. He’d knock down three more in a 15-point third to almost singlehandedly get the Crusaders back into the game after they trailed 11 at halftime. He led the team with 23 points on the night/CLAY REYNOLDS

The Gators got red hot from behind the arc in the second quarter. Landen Moreno drilled three, and Kaiden Keiser would also make one in the stanza, as Trinity struggled to find offense and was outscored 21-8. The deficit was 37-26 at the half.

Castro-Poveda ignited the Crusader offense yet again out of the locker room to spark a comeback attempt. The senior scored 15 of Trinity’s 19 in the third quarter as they cut the deficit to 51-45 going to the fourth.

The Crusaders kept within striking distance for much of the final quarter, but could never quite catch up. The Gators made enough free throws to hold on for the 68-60 win.

FRANK-LY SPEAKING: Anthony Frank-Woji had a hand in both Trinity’s strong start and its late challenge, with 15 points total and a number of key rebounds in one of his strongest games of late Tuesday. This step-through basket got two of his five in the first half. The senior drained four of his five free throws and had three field goals in the fourth quarter to contribute significantly to a late comeback bid/CLAY REYNOLDS

Castro-Poveda led the way with 23. Evans added 15 and Anthony Frank-Woji had 15.

Allen, who came in averaging over 36 per game, finished with 32. Keiser added 14.

Allen, who hit 1,000 career points in a game against Trinity last January, went over 2,000 in the first half of this one.

ALLEN A DAY’S WORK: Gatewood’s Matt Allen (12), who in his career has made 30- and 40-point games look routine, dropped 32 in Tuesday’s visit to Dublin to pass 2,000 for his career. He reached the milestone with his 14th of the game at the free throw line during the second quarter/CLAY REYNOLDS

The Lady Crusaders’ return to the court this week was delayed by travel complications for a number of players and coaches serving the previous week on one of Trinity’s multiple international mission trips who were held up by flight scheduling issues in their return to the states.

As a result, Monday’s non-region game at Tattnall Square was cancelled. Tuesday’s matchup with Gatewood has been postponed until Jan. 27.

Both squads are back home Friday night as they continue region action against Brentwood.