Trinity High welcomes back fans, romps past Central, 81-56

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Trinity High used a 12-0 run at the start of the third quarter to blow open a close game and cruised past Manchester Central, 81-57, Friday night, in the season-opener for both teams.

Senior Andrew Politi dropped in a game-high 20 points, including four 3-pointers, to lead four Pioneers in double figures. Trinity sophomore Mark Nyomah had 17 points and eight rebounds, and fellow Trinity sophomore point guard Tyler Bike added 16 points and 12 assists.5 1


The game was played before a packed house at the Trinity High gym, something New Hampshire high school basketball teams had not experienced since the Covid-19 forced the cancellation of the 2020 state tournaments after the quarterfinal round.

The crowd, which featured raucous student sections from both schools, was deafening from the opening tap, giving the game an air of playoff excitement.

“It was wonderful to see everyone back in there,” said Trinity Coach Keith Bike. “Hopefully, they can keep coming. We gave them a good example of what we’re all about.”

“It was a great atmosphere, first game back from Covid,” said Central Coach Sudi Lett. “It was a playoff type atmosphere. We have a lot of new people who’ve never been in that type of atmosphere. I don’t think a lot of us have, for a while.”1 1


Central was led by junior guard Kuel Akot, who had 15 points, including a pair of 3-pointers. Junior Angel Castro chipped in with nine points, to go along with seven rebounds.

Missed opportunities were the story of the game for Central. The Little Green missed seven layups, most of which came in the first half, when the game was still close. Trinity took advantage, building a 14-8 lead after the first quarter. Central was also sloppy with the ball, turning it over 11 times in the game. It’s a bad habit that Lett hopes will get cleaned up as the season progresses.

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“One positive to come out of this game is that we can’t play any worse,” said Lett. “But I have to give credit to Trinity. They’re very well coached and they did a great job.”

By the second quarter, both teams had discovered their outside shooting touch and put on a show. Politi drained a 3-pointer from the wing off a kickout pass from Tyler Bike to give Trinity its first double-digit lead, 19-8.

Later, it was Central’s Akot, Baylee Bates and Greg Jean Baptiste all hitting from distance, as the Little Green cut their deficit to cut the Trinity advantage to 26-19 with 2:25 top play in the half.

The impromptu shooting contest hit a crescendo over a frantic final 30 seconds. Castro drilled a 3 for Central only to be answered by a bomb from Politi. Seconds later, Castro struck again but he left too much time on the clock, enough for Nyomah to close the half with a 3-pointer to give the Pioneers a 38-30 lead at the break.

Trinity stayed red-hot from the field to start the second half, while Central cooled off considerably. With Tyler Bike directing the offense and distributing the ball, the Pioneers opened the second half with a 12-0 run to push their lead to 50-30 with 5:40 to play in the quarter.

“It starts with our point guard Tyler. When he’s a distributer, we’re good,” said Keith Bike. “He believes he’s got shooters around him now, so he’s going to drive and he’s going to kick it. The other guys feed off of that.”

A beautiful coast-to-coast drive and layup by Akot capped a 6-0 run for Central and sliced the Trinity lead to 53-39. But that was as close as the Little Green would get. An NBA-distance 3-pointer from Trinity sophomore Max Shosa stifled the rally and seemed to drain the energy from Central.

A pair of free throws from Devohn Ellis (13 points) made it 59-39 after three.

The teams substituted liberally in the fourth quarter, with the Trinity lead topping out at 29 points, 77-48.

Trinity is back in action Tuesday, on the road at Windham. Manchester Central will look to pick up its first win of the young season on Tuesday, at home against Alvirne.


 

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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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