Troy all alone in first place again with 70-63 revenge on Avondale
BY JAKE LOURIM
STUDNE TCORRESPONDENT
TROY— First, the Troy boysbasketball team had to knock off a solid Auburn Hills Avondale team, one that beat the Colts 66-62 in December.
Then, they got some help from their friends in Rochester Hills and Birmingham. And now, they’re back in first place, all alone.
Three players in double figures led a balanced scoring effort that helped Troy get even against Avondale, 70-63.
That, joined by Berkley’s 74-60 home loss to Birmingham Seaholm and Rochester
Stoney Creek’s 71-64 upset at Ferndale, eliminated all the first-place competitors except Troy.
Friday began with a four-way tie and ended with no tie.
“We’re still in first place,” said a relieved Troy coach Gary Fralick. “The worst we can be is tied for first.”
He wasn’t aware right after the game of the two upsets that would leave the Colts to have complete control.
Avondale, which trailed 54-45 after the third quarter, stormed back with a 3-point play, two free throws, a put-back, and a driving layup to tie the game.
John Stibich’s big three just before the four-minute mark put Troy in front by four. But Avondale hit with 2:50 left and still only trailed by four.
That was when Troy went inside. Al Wise hit a pair of free throws with 1:49 left. Troy got a stop, and, after running some time of the clock, Evan Mahone did the same.
Wise hit two more with 19 seconds left to seal the deal.
“What we wanted to see was as much energy as we could, and there was a lot more energy tonight,” said Fralick.
The win got Troy back to defending its home court; Lake Orion’s upset last Thursday broke the 6-0 home record.
“Those students come out and get charged up; it gets the team excited, it gets the coaches excited, and it makes a huge difference,” said Fralick of the student section. “It’s like our sixth man.”
The difficult Lake Orion loss coupled with two days off practice because of the snow made Fralick less then ecstatic about this game.
“I was not as confident as I would like to be,” said Fralick. “We had a poor practice yesterday. I was concerned about tonight, but it worked out. We played our butts off tonight.”
Sophomore James Young scored 22 points and pulled down 12 boards. Stibich and Mahone were also in double figures for the Colts, Stibich with 14 and Mahone with 10.
The three led a 37-point first half for Troy in which Young scored 10 points, Mahone hit two three-pointers, and Stibich hit a triple.
“They’re never shy to shoot them,” said Fralick of his 3-point shooters. “We usually give them the green light. At times, they make our hair go gray, but they can hit them.”
The Colts put up 24 points in just the second quarter, using four 3’s and a 75 percent (9- for-12) shooting percentage from the floor.
Avondale grabbed 14 offensive rebounds in the second half, but shot just 25 percent (11-for-44) from the floor after the break, unable to turn their glass advantage into points.
The Yellow Jackets didn’t really put up a huge run, perhaps in part because of their 3-point shooting woes. They were 4-for-22 from downtown, with no long balls in the second half.
Category: Auburn Hills Avondale, Prep Wraps, Troy
