Troy is quite offensive in rout of Hamtramck
BY JAKE LOURIM
STUDENT CORRESPONDENT
HAMTRAMCK — A few easy shots early, a few steals early, and the game was over in the first quarter. But James Young wasn’t quite done with his show.
Young turned in another electrifying performance Tuesday at Hamtramck, helping
Troy crush the host Cosmos, 82-41, in a non-league boys basketball game.
Although the Colts went scoreless the first minute against the woeful Cosmos,
senior John Stibich opened the scoring early with a three-pointer. That gave Troy the lead for good against the undisciplined Hamtramck squad.
Stibich and junior Evan Mahone each knocked down another pair of triples and
Young, senior Al Wise, junior Jeff Holmes and sophomore Joe Leonard added three-
pointers as the Colts put up 33 points in the first quarter.
Troy totaled nine threes in the first quarter, getting plenty of open jumpers through
the gaping holes in Hamtramck’s zone defense.
“They played us in a 2-3 zone, and we got some good looks,” Troy coach Gary
Fralick said. “Any time a team plays us in a zone, we feel like we’re going to have
the opportunity to shoot them out of it.”
Although it gave up 17 points, Troy’s 1-3-1 zone forced plenty of Hamtramck
Turnovers — 12 in the first half.
Young, the forward in the front line of the zone, picked off a pass and dunked at the
other end with 6:12 left in the first quarter.
He finished with only 20 points — a season low — and 11 rebounds.
Killed by low efficiency from long range recently, Troy stepped it up Tuesday,
shooting 10-for-18 from downtown in the first half.
“It was nice to see us hit some tonight,” Fralick said.
The Colts added 21 more points in the second quarter, this time having their way
down low. They hit eight free throws and scored eight points in the paint, six on the second chance.
The Colts out-rebounded Hamtramck 48-28.
“I’ve been harping on the guys to be better rebounders, but we are not doing
what we need to do to be better,” Fralick said, adding of the good numbers
Tuesday, “You’ve got to be happy with that. I’m pleased with the number, it just
has to be more consistent.”
Their first triple of the second quarter wasn’t until the buzzer, when senior Mike Sully put Troy up 54-29 at the break. Juniors David Eicher and Travis Schupra scored their first points of the season in the waning minutes of the easy win.
“It allows a lot of guys to play a lot of minutes,” said Fralick. “They’ve been working
hard in practice, and it pays off.”
Meanwhile, Young stayed in for most of the third quarter and put on a show. He dunked and drew a foul with 4:41 left in the third quarter, and then grabbed a steal and slammed down another with 2:57 left.
Young, a sophomore, came up injured inside the one-minute mark of the third quarter. He should be fine for the Colts’ first game of 2011 at Ferndale on Jan. 4. Troy (4-1, 2-1 OAA White) practiced Wednesday, but then has off until Monday.
“I think it’s going to be great for us,” Fralick said. “I think everyone at this time of year needs to spend time with their family.”
(Jake Lourim is a sophomore at Troy High School.)
Category: Prep Wraps, Troy
