The Dickinson Trinity boys basketball team prides itself on stout defense.
The Titans didn’t have too many defensive bright spots in the opening five minutes.
However, over the next 11 minutes until halftime Trinity went on a commanding 34-8 run en route to an 82-43 win over Glen Ullin-Hebron during the 43rd annual Roughrider Tournament on Tuesday at Knights of Columbus Activities Center.
“One thing that’s going to have to carry us is the defensive side of the ball,” Trinity head coach Gregg Grinsteinner said. “At times, we got a little lackadaisical. (GUH) is an athletic team. We got some easy things going and once we got things going everyone wanted to play for the steal. We have to be fundamentally sound with everything we do. That’s one the kids learned from this.”
The Titans’ used Joe Mayer’s 3-pointer to spark the offense. Before the 3-pointer, the Bearcats held an 11-8 lead. After the 3-pointer, Trinity (1-1) never let the GUH back into the game.
“We played pretty well and then it just went downhill and we couldn’t stop it,” GUH head coach Paul Sayler said.
Mayer’s quick five-point burst helped the team build up the commanding halftime lead. The junior guard finished the first half with 10 points. He finished with 10 points, four rebounds and two steals.
Not only did Mayer supply points and defensive effort in the first half, but everyone else including all eight of the bench players followed. The Titans’ bench supplied a total of 38 points led by Brock Messer’s 14, followed by Willy Jahner with 12. Trinity had three starters in double digits as Brett Mortenson and Cole Wilhelmi each posted 10 points.
“There were points where we could do whatever we wanted on offense and we shut them down defensively,” Mayer said. “Then there times where we took a couple plays off and have some turnovers. We are just trying to get better every game. It’s just step by step.”
The situation for the GUH went from bad to worse in the second half. The Titans extended their lead to as much as 39, 82-43, in the second half.
For the Bearcats (1-3), Bailey Morman had a team-high 14 points off the bench, while Adam Gietzen added 12. Chance Glass had a game-high nine rebounds.
Though this was the most lopsided loss the Bearcats have taken this season, Sayler said the team is going to continually learn each game.
“The kids were working hard, we just have a ways to go,” he said.
The Titans continue the Roughrider Tournament to play Mott-Regent in the semifinals at 6 p.m. Thursday. The Bearcats play Richardton-Taylor in the consolation semifinals at 3 p.m.
Grinsteinner said he’s pleased with the way the schedule opens up this season for the Titans. He’s able to focus on a couple different aspects during practice today.
“I like the beginning of the season schedule by playing Saturday, Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday,” he said. “We are going to tweak a couple things and then we are going to get ready play Thursday and we’ll do the same thing on Friday to get ready for Saturday. We’re not coming out of games with a list of 20 things to do, but two or three things that we want to get better at every night.”
GUH 11 19 34 43
Trinity 23 45 66 82
GUH: Bailey Morman 14, Adam Gietzen 12, Chance Glass 6, Mitchell Bettenhausen 4, Lucas Wagner 3, Garret Womack 2, Ty Wehri 2.
T: Brock Messer 14, Willy Jahner 12, Brett Mortenson 10, Cole Wilhelmi 10, Joe Mayer 10, Shawn Stoltz 8, Nick Klug 7, Austin Deichert 7, Jon Volk 2, Sam Sherer 2.
3-pointers: GUH 1 (Wagner 1), T 2 (Jahner 1, Mayer 1). Free throws: GUH 12-16, T 14-19. Total fouls: GUH 17, T 14. Fouled out: GUH, Bettenhausen. Rebounds: GUH 29 (Glass 9), T 34 (Mortenson 6). Assists: GUH 1 (Gietzen 1), T 2 (Mortenson 1, Stoltz 1). Steals: GUH 20 (Gietzen 5), T 24 (Wilhelmi 5). Blocks: none. Turnovers: GUH 24, T 20. Records: GUH 1-3, T 1-1.
