Trinity boys stay perfect, pull away from Keene, 72-55

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KEENE, NH — Trinity High shook off a sluggish first half and pulled away from Keene High, 72-55, Wednesday night, at Purbeck Gym.

Sophomore guard Tyler Bike had 19 points, eight assists and two steals to leads the Trinity offense. Senior Andrew Politi added 18 points (on six 3-pointers) and pulled down six rebounds.

With the win, Trinity improves to 5-0 heading into the Christmas break. The Pioneers will take part in scaled-back Queen City Invitational Tournament next week, before resuming their season on Jan. 3 at home against Londonderry.

With four of five wins coming by at least 10 points, it’s a strong start to the season for a Trinity team that was knocked out in the D1 State Semifinals last season by Winnacunnet. Still, Coach Keith Bike says there is plenty of room for improvement.

“I’m very, very happy with the progress so far, but we can still get a lot better,” said Bike. “I thought we were going to be pretty good this year … I think it carried over a little bit from last year. Our returning guys were mad that we got beat in the semis (last year). They felt like we played our worst game of the year (in the loss). We know we need to get better. They work hard every day in practice and I love it. It’s a joy to coach these kids.”

On Wednesday, Trinity had its hands full with a pesky Keene squad still looking for its first win of the season (0-5). The Blackbirds came out aggressively on both ends of the floor. They looked for fast-break opportunities, took the ball hard to the rim and played a defiant man-to-man defense, showing little respect for Trinity’s offensive firepower.

Keene was led by its talented freshman, Christian Hennessey, and junior Ben Hertzler, with 11 points each. Hennessey also pulled down six rebounds and had three steals.

But Trinity had too many weapons in its balanced offensive attack. Beyond Bike and Politi, sophomore Devohn Ellis, along with junior Quinton Pincoske and sophomore Nyomah finished with eight points each.

Trinity spotted Keene a 6-0 and trailed throughout much of the first quarter. The Pioneers needed a three-point play on a strong drive to the hoop by Tyler Bike, in the final seconds of the quarter, to tie the game, 14-14.

Trinity didn’t take its first lead until sophomore Devohn Ellis scored on a power drive from the wing, 1:15 into the second quarter. Freshman Jaiden Summers then scored off an offensive rebound to give the Pioneers a 20-16 lead.

Still, Keene wasn’t going to go away quietly. The Blackbirds went on a 6-0 run to retake the lead and matched the Pioneers, hoop-for-hoop, the rest of the half. A 3-pointer by Politi, late in the quarter, helped Trinity take a two-point lead (32-30) into halftime.

Keene kept things close for the first half of the third quarter, trailing just 42-37, when Politi took matters into his own hands. The Trinity senior found his range, drilling four straight 3-pointers, including one that appeared to be from downtown Jaffrey. Politi’s barrage was part of 15-2 run over the final 3:50 of the third quarter, putting the Pioneers in firm command, 57-39.

Keene was never able to get closer than 15 points the rest of the way.

While Trinity’s offense took a half to get going, its defense played another strong game. Keene was forced into 18 turnovers. After playing half-court man-to-man through much of the first half, the Pioneers came out with full court pressure after made shots.

The Pioneers also did well on the glass against a substantially bigger Keene squad. Trinity out-rebounded Keene, 32-22 and got several second chance buckets.

Beyond the turnovers, Keene shot itself in the foot with missed chances. The Blackbirds went ice cold from the field in the third quarter and were just 12-of-25 from the free throw line for the game.

 

 

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Bill Gilman

Bill Gilman is a veteran journalist with 35 years of experience covering community news and sports in New England. He and his wife have two grown sons and two perfect granddaughters.

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