Troy bows out of state tournament with 58-53 loss to Pontiac
BY JAKE LOURIM
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
TROY — One shot short, one stop short, one play short.
Troy couldn’t come up with a key rebound in the final seconds of Wednesday’s district semifinal at Troy Athens, ending a sensational season with a 58-53 loss to Pontiac and falling just short of an upset that would have put the Colts in a rubber match district final with Auburn Hills Avondale.
“It was a missed layup here, a missed box-out there; it’s just frustrating,” said Troy coach Gary Fralick. “Just the little things.”
Sophomore James Young battled inside with a put-back, tying the game at 53 with 1:48. However, Young missed a contested fast-break layup with a minute left, to which Pontiac responded with a driving layup and a 3-point play opportunity.
Pontiac added just one free throw with 23 seconds left to go up by three, giving Troy and senior sharpshooter John Stibich — who hit six of his first nine 3-pointers — an opportunity for the tie.
Stibich missed an off-balanced 3-point try, and Pontiac rebounded and drew a foul, needing only one free throw to ice the game with nine seconds left.
Both free throws just barely rimmed out, giving Troy another opportunity. But the Phoenix snatched away the offensive rebound, kicked the ball out, ran some clock, and finally hit a pair of free throws to make it a five-point game with three seconds left.
Either the Stibich 3-pointer or the rebound or the fast-break layup would have given the Colts an opportunity for the win. But no one will ever know if they would have cashed in.
The close losses have not come frequently for Troy (17-5). The Colts lost just two games by single digits in points the whole regular season, winning 12.
“It’s the law of averages,” said Fralick. “Eventually, you’ve got to end up on the wrong end.”
Troy had to mount a huge comeback just to have a chance in the final ten seconds.
Pontiac controlled the game early with its overwhelming quickness and athleticism. The Phoenix hit three triple in the first five minutes and didn’t allow Troy any good opportunities offensively, bottling up Young and taking a 13-2 lead in the first five minutes.
Young turned in four points in the final two minutes of the first quarter to make it a 15-8 game. Troy eventually drew within five, but Pontiac tacked on a 3-point play and a long triple to build the lead back to 11.
“We were a little bit out of sorts at the beginning of the game. I told them that Pontiac would be the most athletic team they play this season,” said Fralick. “I hope that didn’t put them in a situation where they were worried or scared.”
Stibich drained a 3 and Young scored three on a driving layup and a foul shot in the final 36 seconds to cut the deficit back to five.
Stibich drilled a pair of 3’s in the first two minutes of the second half, completing a 12-0 run that put the Colts in the lead for the first time. The senior canned two more triples in the third quarter that kept the game tied heading into the final period.
Stibich finished with six 3’s in 10 attempts, totaling a team-high 18 points. Young added 16 and 11 rebounds, finishing an amazing season with a scoring average of 22.3 and narrowly missing the 500-point plateau. Senior co-captain Al Wise did the dirty work under the basket with nine boards.
“(Stibich) doesn’t need much room once he’s feeling it,” said Fralick.
Using its athleticism, Pontiac was able to limit Young, a necessity if a team wants to beat Troy. Thus, Pontiac halted a magical Troy season that included a 17-5 record and the Colts’ first league title since 1994.
Category: Troy, Uncategorized
