By Ryan Davenport, WSON Sports  Correspondent 

The Webster County Trojans faced off in a 6th District rivalry game against the Union County Braves at Trojan Gym in Dixon.

 

In the opening period, the Trojans outscored the Braves 10-6 heading into the second quarter. In the second period, the Trojans outscored the Braves 17-13, as Trojans sophomore guard Micah Austin and junior forward Deshawn Murphy combined for 11 points and the Trojans would have a 8 point lead at halftime with the score 27-19.

 

To begin the second half, the Braves would outscore the Trojans 15-14, as Braves junior guard Landon Jones and senior guard Izaiah Manuel combined for 8 points in the quarter, as the Trojans held a 7 point lead with the score 41-34 heading into the fourth quarter. In the fourth and final period, the Trojans outscored the Braves 18-16, as Trojan junior guards Jarvis Starks Scott and Evan Michalek combined for 12 points as the Trojans would come away with a 9 point win over the Braves with the final score 59-50. The Trojans improve to (8-9) on the season while the Braves fall to (8-9).

 

The leading scorer for the Trojans was junior guard Evan Michalek with 15 points, 6 rebounds, and 4 assists while shooting 2 for 3 from the free throw line and 3 for 8 from the three point line on the night. Junior forward Deshawn Murphy scored 14 points and grabbed 6 rebounds and had 3 assists while junior guard Jarvis Starks Scott tallied 10 points and 3 rebounds while shooting 4 for 4 from the free throw line. Sophomore guard Micah Austin contributed 9 points, 4 assists, and 3 rebounds while shooting 3 for 8 from the three point line while senior guard Markus Austin recorded 9 points, 3 assists, and 2 rebounds while shooting 7 for 10 from the free throw line. To round out the scoring for the Trojans, junior guard Luke Garrard added 2 points and 5 rebounds on the night.

 

As a team, the Trojans were 7 for 18 (38%) from the three point line and shot 14 for 20 (70%) from the free throw line while grabbing 29 total rebounds and recording 14 assists while committing 11 turnovers on the night.

 

The leading scorer for the Braves was senior guard Kris Hughes with 16 points and 2 rebounds on the night. Senior guard Izaiah Manuel scored 14 points and grabbed 5 rebounds while shooting 2 for 3 from the free throw line while junior guard Landon Jones tallied 9 points and grabbed 3 rebounds while shooting 2 for 5 from the three point line. Senior guard Tre Hancock added 6 points and 2 assists while sophomore forward Cameron Miller contributed 5 points and 7 rebounds on the night.

 

As a team, the Braves were 2 for 9 (22%) from the three point line and shot 4 for 8 (50%) from the free throw line while grabbing 29 total rebounds and committing 13 turnovers on the night.

The Player of the Game was Trojan junior guard Evan Michalek as I was able to ask Evan a few questions in a short interview after the big win for the Trojans. The first question I asked Evan was how he performed in the game individually and he responded with this, “Pretty solid. It was a tough game. It was a little closer than expected but we pulled through. I think I did pretty well. Didn’t start off shooting the ball too great but ended the game pretty well and we as a team just knocked some free throws down.” The other question I asked him was what he knew about their next opponent in the Caldwell County Tigers at home and Evan responded with this, “I mean from the record at least, they’re not as good as usual but we can’t overlook them like coach (Ryan Haile) was saying. They still have some solid pieces I know (Xavier) Bumphus, the Whittington kids (Colin and Carter), they have a lot of pieces so we can’t overlook them. We still got to enjoy this win but focus on tomorrow too.”

 

The Trojans next game is tonight, January 21st, at home on Homecoming night against  Caldwell County at 7:30 P.M. while the Braves next game will be Tuesday night, January 24th, on the road against the Crittenden County Rockets at 7:30 P.M.