BASKETBALL: Tough quarter haunts Trinity boys in first-round heartbreaker at Southland

The Trinity Crusaders saw their basketball season come to an end on Wednesday with a 46-41 loss to Southland in Americus.

Trinity almost battled back from a historically slow start, but could not quite pull off the upset.

Playing against a Raider squad that prefers a deliberate pace, the Crusaders knew possessions would be at a premium.

They failed to take advantage of those limited possessions as they scored exactly zero points in the first quarter.  Southland didn’t exactly light up the scoreboard either, but managed to lead 11-0 after one.

The Crusaders finally found some offense in the second. They would put up 14 while holding the Raiders to just 10 and trailed only 21-14 at the half.

Southland picked up their scoring pace a bit in the third quarter, mustering 15 in the period while Trinity would score 12. The Crusaders went into the final quarter trailing by double digits at 36-26.

Trinity had its best offensive showing of the game in the fourth as it attempted to come back and got within striking distance, but could never catch all the way up.

Southland’s Ben Haugabook was the difference in the ballgame as he scored 18 on six 3-pointers. Max Kelley added 10.

Will Foskey led the Crusaders with 15 in his final career game. Jag George added 13 to finish an excellent sophomore season that saw him average over 22 points per game.

In spite of several injuries and losing a key player mid-season, Trinity still improved from three wins last season to 11 this year. 

The Crusaders will lose five seniors in Foskey, Hayden Bowles, Kolbi Grooms, Carter Lee, and Alston Bryan, who all finish their careers with a region title, a state title and a state runner-up finish. 

The Trinity girls, off a first-round bye, will open their state playoff run in the quarterfinals against Windsor at 6 p.m. Friday night at Macon’s Tattnall Square.