BASKETBALL: Trinity boys lights-out from 3 in back-to-back wins vs. Thomas Jefferson, Stratford

The Trinity boys basketball team surpassed its win total from last season with a pair Monday and Tuesday.  

The Crusaders defeated Thomas Jefferson 71-52 on Monday and followed that up with a 51-35 victory over Stratford on Tuesday. The girls suffered their second loss of the season as Stratford beat them soundly again 63-35.

Monday’s game did not start out great defensively as the Crusaders allowed the Jaguars to put up 20 points in the opening quarter. They did manage 14 of their own to keep the contest close.

The second was much better on both ends of the floor as Trinity exploded for 23, and held Thomas Jefferson to just eight. Jagger George and Jamarion Ricks combined for 15 in the period and the Crusaders would lead 37-28 at the half.

The third quarter was a stalemate as both teams scored 12, but the Crusaders put the game away in the fourth, outscoring the Jags 22-12 to pull away for the decisive win. 

George led the way again with 23.  Ricks had a season-high 17 and Carter Lee added a career-best 15. Trinity would make nine 3s in the contest.

Grant Gillooly led Thomas Jefferson with 18.

Tuesday’s road game came against a AAAA Stratford squad that won 21 games last season and features five players over 6-foot-5.  

The Crusaders were up to the task as they spread out the Eagles and raced to a big 21-5 lead after a quarter for the wire-to-wire win. George would score 10 and Ricks would score eight in the opening period to set the tone.

Trinity slowed down a little offensively in the second, but the defense remained stellar, building a 31-13 halftime advantage.

Stratford showed a little more offensive life out of the locker room, matching its first-half total with 13 in the third.  Trinity would manage just eight, but still led 39-26.

The Crusaders’ defense locked the Eagles down again in the fourth, holding them to just nine as they pulled away again for the 51-35 win.

George had a season-high 27 and Ricks added 17 again.  Will Foskey was the only other Crusader to score as he added seven.  They made seven more 3-pointers, and have now hit 50 through six games.

The girls played the Eaglettes for the second time this season, and luckily they will not see them again.

The game in Dublin two weeks ago was competitive in the first half, but got away from Trinity in the second half.

This one was not very close from the outset.

Stratford raced out to a 19-8 lead after a quarter and led by nearly 20, 37-18 at the half.

The  Eaglettes’ offense slowed a bit in the second half, but so did Trinity’s.

  Stratford outpaced the Lady Crusaders 12-8 in the third and 14-9 in the fourth to roll to the win. 

Trinity had no answers for Camiya Hudson and Dalaila Lowe as they scored 25 and 22, respectively.

M.G. Alligood led Trinity with 11 and Brinley Vinson added 10. Maddy George was held to just four and scored only sevenin the two games combined against Stratford.

The Lady Crusaders are now 5-2 while the Crusaders improve to 4-2 on the year. 

Both teams are set to return to action at home on Friday against FPD, then travel to face John Milledge on Saturday.