Tuesday, February 9, 2010

Bombs away; Troy High treys topple CCHS in Big 10

Catholic Central's Miles Perras is defended by Troy's Josh Blaauboer (21) and Elijah Jenkins (3) during Tuesday's Big 10 Conference game at CCHS. Troy won, 59-46. (Photos by Tom Killips - The Record).

Troy High's big men - Javion Ogunyemmi, Greg Williams and Kareem Brown - have been dominant against Big 10 competition in the past few weeks, but the Flying Horses needed to rely on their outside game when Catholic Central neutralized them Tuesday night. It worked.

Troy made eight three-point baskets in the game, topping their Collar City rivals 59-46 in an entertaining game at CCHS.

Keaton Woods prepares himself for a shot attempt as Troy's Elijah Jenkins defends during Tuesday's Big 10 game at Catholic Central.

Elijah Jenkins sparked Troy as the Flying Horses scored the first 10 points of the game, as the usual ball distributor was equally proficient at shooting. He made two threes and Williams made three more as the Horses took control from long range.

"They were locking up our big men, so I thought that we needed to get our outside game going," said Jenkins. "We worked on our shooting a lot before the game."

"We told our guys, 'Listen, we have to play without fear and just come out and take our shots that we know we can make and not worry about trying to constantly get it inside if it’s not there," said Troy head coach Jeff Sitterly. "I thought we did a good job running our sets in the second half. We haven’t run sets really well, but we were starting to do that a little bit better."

Freshman center Javion Ogunyemmi was limited to eight points, but he did pull down 10 rebounds and make four blocks. After calling him up from the junior varsity in December, Sitterly has been absolutely thrilled with his development on the varsity level.

"He knows how to play and I think that’s the special thing about him," Sitterly said. "He’s a big kid, but he knows how to play the game. He’s able to keep himself out of foul trouble. He rebounds and goes up strong with the ball. He does the little things to help you win. He doesn’t worry about points, he worries about helping us win basketball games. iI it’s blocking shots, rebounds, and playing good defense, that’s what he’s going to do. And that is what makes him special as a young kid. He’s a difference maker on the floor."

Troy's Kareem Brown, who did not play in the first or third quarters, leaps for a layup during the second quarter of Tuesday's game at CCHS. He did not score any points in limited action. Jordan McBride, left, defends.

Troy (7-7, 9-7) evened its record to .500 in the Big 10 and every win counts now as they try to gain a few spots in the upcoming Section II Class seedings.

Catholic Central (4-9, 4-11) stumbled a week after topping La Salle by two points and the Crusaders' lackadaisical performance in the first few minutes on Senior Night was surprising to head coach Rich Foglia.

"That kind of shocked me on senior night," he said. "We couldn’t find intensity and that’s my job to find it somewhere. I went to the bench and we had a little bit of a run, but nothing consistent at all."

Troy continues its Collar City rivalry week Friday night when it hosts La Salle Institute.

"It’s always good to play them," Jenkins said. "They give us a good game and we have fun playing against those guys."

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Congratulations to Watervliet High School senior wrestler John Delaney, who was named Newschannel 13's Athlete of the Week.

I wonder where they got the story idea from?

Best of luck to John and all the area wrestlers in the Section II Division I and Division II meets at the Glens Falls Civic Center on Friday and Saturday.

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