Fralick earns wins 300th as Troy ousts rival Athens
BY DAN STICKRADT
SENIOR EDITOR
dan.stickradt@northoaklandsports.com
TROY— Gary Fralick recorded his 300th career coaching win Monday night. It couldn’t have been any sweater for the veteran Troy basketball coach.
Fralick’s Colts pulled sway in the second half to a 73-58 triumph Monday over district host Troy Athens in a Class A district opener.
Sophomore forward James Young netted a game- and career-high 35 points in helping the Colts (17-4) earn a date with Pontiac in Wednesday’s district semifinals.
“We knew about it,” smiled Young of win No. 300. “We had a big group hug and promised coach that there would be more wins.”
Fralick was all smiles Monday.
“The fact that we were able to do this against Athens (makes it even better),” said Fralick. “We played hard all night. We didn’t play well all night, but we played hard all night and hit some big shots. James played great for us and you can’t ask for anything more to beat your arch rivals on their floor. “
Troy avoided the postseason of hex of beating a team twice in the regular season only to succumb in the postseason.
“We knew it was going to be tough coming in, I just think that enough guys contributed,” offered Fralick. “Al Wise did a good job and Mike Sully came in and did a nice job on the boards, Jeff Holmes did a good job. It was a total team effort. We don’t win the game if James doesn’t come in and score all of those points.”
Three-pointers by John Stibich, Young and Evan Mahone kickstarted a 16-7 run in the third quarter that turned a 34-30 lead with 7:09 left in the frame into a 50-37 advantage with 3:21 left in the third stanza.
By the end of third, Troy held a 54-45 lead.
Athens made one last stand in the fourth quarter, when George Zachery’s jumper with 3:44 to play cut Troy’s lead down to 60-54. The Colts responded by making 12 of 13 free throws down the stretch, outscoring the Red Hawks (8-13) 14-4 in the final three minutes.
Young scored eight points in the run after scoring 10 points in the third quarter for Troy.
Caleb McIntosh nailed six 3-pointers and scored 24 points for the Red Hawks. Jake Duzey, headed to Iowa for football, bowed out with nine points and 12 rebounds, Zachery added 13 points and nine assists and Tyler Chanell added five points and nine assists for Athens.
Athens was 7-for-15 from the floor in the first quarter in building a 19-17 advantage, but the Red Hawks could not sustain the same pace.
Troy led 34-28 at the half, thanks to a 17-9 second quarter and never trailed in the second half.
Young added 10 rebounds and three steals. Stibich chipped in with 15 points, including a trio of three-pointers, Mahone added nine points, four assists and four steals and Jeff Holmes followed with six points and eight rebounds for Troy.
“We just go game by game, but I try to put the team on my back and play as hard as I can to get this team to win,” said Young, who did not play in the postseason last winter. “Last year was hard year (not playing). I have to make up for what I missed last year.”
Athens simply had no answer for Young, who has scored over 30 points in each of his past two games.
“Young is a special talent,” sighed Athens coach Dave Scott, whose team lost all three times to Troy this season. “I thought Jake (Duzey) and Tyler (Channell) and Alex Faubel, our three senior leaders, really played well tonight, as they have all season. I thought Caleb McIntosh did a fantastic job tonight. His shooting kept us in the game. But I am pleased with our senior leadership. It’s been there all season.
“I thought we were a good team. We only had two blowouts this season, we played in I think four overtime games and we had a lot of close games,” added Scott. “We just let them pull away from us in the second half and we couldn’t get closer than (six points).”
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Category: High School, Prep Wraps, Troy, Troy Athens
