It started out as a rough week for the Troy boys’ basketball team, as they battled three of the top teams in the area. The Trojans opened the week with a rough 74-46 loss to the GWOC South leading Springboro Panthers, and followed that up with a tough 63-58 loss to Greenville, before shocking the area with a commanding 71-58 victory over state ranked Miami East.

Against Springboro, the Trojans fell behind by 18 at the half, and despite cutting into the deficit in the second half, watched as Springboro pulled away.

“They got out in transition against us, they passed the ball well and shot well,” said Troy coach Paul Bremigan. “It was a combination of their transition and we didn’t shoot really well.”

Troy shot 38 percent from the field, and was only 5-13 from the free throw line.

“Our shot selection wasn’t very good,” he added. “We were down 18 at half and cut it to ten and could have cut it down more. We missed free throws and it stopped us from getting any closer.”

Despite the tough loss, the Trojans are trying to focus for the tournament which begins for the boys’ in two weeks.

“We are starting to get people back and healthy,” Bremigan said. “Zach Reichelderfer hasn’t played consistently all year since game six (due to injury), but we are getting healthy. He will help us with rebounding.”

“We just have to do a better job executing on offense and be more patient,” he added. “We don’t have a lot of firepower so we need to be more patient. We can still push in transition but if it’s not there, we need to pull it back and run the offense. There is a fine line there.”

Trey Bucio and Ryan McClurg each scored 10 points for Troy, while Mechia Linton added eight.

*The Trojans came back on Friday night and had one back quarter which cost them in a 63-58 loss to Greenville at home. After an even first-quarter, the Trojans were outscored 21-9 in the second period to fall behind 33-21 at the half.

The rest of the game saw Troy outscore the Wave 37-30, but fell short in their conference game.

*On Saturday, it was likely their statement victory of the season, defeating Miami East by 13m ending their six-game losing streak.

McClurg had the big game for the Trojans with a game high 22 points, while Yaqub added 18 and Linton scored 12. Reichelderfer contributed 11 for Troy in the win.

*Troy is back in action at Vandalia Butler on Friday night, then on Saturday, they host Tippecanoe at Hobart Arena in a day that will see all of the girls’ and boys’ JV and varsity teams play.

Trey Bucio looks to make a play for Troy.