In the first five minutes of the game, the Troy Trojans came out strong, jumping out to a 14-5 lead over the visiting Tecumseh Arrows, as they looked to set the tone early.
The next five minutes, the Arrows took over the game.
Tecumseh went on a 21-2 run deep into the second period, and used a balanced attack to defeat the Trojans on Saturday night 72-62, improving their record on the season to 11-2 overall. Troy fell to 4-7 with the loss.
“The kids did a great job sharing the basketball tonight,” Tecumseh coach Roger Culbertson said. “At times we have to depend on Darius, and he found the open man tonight, and teams are starting to concentrate on him more and more, and he did a good job getting into the paint still and kicking it out to some good shooters who knocked down their shots tonight.”
“It was rough on us when they went on that run, and we failed to finish in there,” Troy coach Paul Bremigan said. “It would have kept us in the game if we could hit layups, and we just struggled with that.”
The Trojans bolted out to their quick lead, as they used a combination of inside shots and long distance three’s to build their lead. Ryan McClurg was big early, as the Trojan scored five quick points to give Troy a 7-2 lead. Romello Yaqub also contributed to their early success, as the guard hit a midrange jumper and a following three, to give Troy a 14-5 lead.
Then the run began for the Arrows.
Rylan Magsaysay hit consecutive three’s, Ross Warren contributed, and Darius Quisenberry scored on consecutive layups, and with 3:10 left in the first half, the Arrows turned a nine-point deficit into a 27-16 lead.
“Our kids weathered the storm in the first quarter and we wore the big kids down with our pace,” Culbertson said. “I thought we did a good job controlling the pace in the first half.”
Tecumseh took a 31-20 lead into the break, and came out firing to start the second half.
Darius Quisenberry and Magsaysay each hit three’s to open the third, sending the Tecumseh lead out to 37-20. With Yaqub trying to get the Trojans back into the game with six straight Trojan points, it was the three-ball that kept the foot on the gas for the Arrows. Malik Quisenberry and Magsaysay each hit three’s as Tecumseh saw their lead go to 45-26 midway through the third.
Troy put together a 6-0 run, then another 6-0 run late in the quarter to cut the Tecumseh lead to 11, but Darius Quisenberry buried a three as the third period came to a close, giving the visitors a 52-38 lead heading to the fourth.
Troy cut the lead to eight with 3:25 left when Yaqub scored on a three-point play, but the Arrows answered. The Arrows led by ten with a minute left, and Malik Quisenberry hit three of four free throws to keep the comfortable lead.
“I thought we were a lot more aggressive in the second half and got to the foul line a little bit,” Bremigan said. “They hit some shots, and then the four-point play they had when we cut it to ten. You have to give them credit, they hit shots when they had to, and hit free throws down the stretch.”
Darius Quisenberry led Tecumseh with 16, Magsaysay added 15 Malik Quisenberry had 14 and Clay Mastin scored 12. Troy was led by Yaqub with 23 and McClurg added 14.
*Also this week, Tecumseh defeated Stebbins 76-67 in overtime, as Darius Quisenberry scored 42 points, one shy of the boys’ single game school record, Malik Quisenberry added 15 and Warren eight.
Tecumseh also defeated Bellefontaine 59-56, as Malik Quisenberry scored his 1,000th career point for the Arrows. He led with 19, Darius Quisenberry added 14, Warren 10.
*Troy also had a good week prior, as they defeated West Carrollton 75-53, as Mechia Linton led the way for Troy with 23 points, Yaqub scored 13 and Keenan Kinnel added 11.
The Trojans also defeated Butler 45-42 on Friday night.
Tecumseh travels to Kenton Ridge on Friday night while Troy goes to Sidney.
