Trinity Academy beats Wildcats
BY MICHAEL LINDSAY ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Westchester Country Day did a lot of things well against a good team with one of the best players in the country. But it couldn’t quite make the plays down the stretch to win. The Cougars led by 13 points in the first half but found themselvesin a close game late into the fourth quarter. Trinity Academy — led by top recruit Isaiah Todd — made a couple key plays over the final two minutes to beat NWestchester 72-71 in nonconference boys basketball Monday at Westchester.
In the girls game, Trinity used an eight-point burst in the second quarter to lead by double digits, then held off Westchester’s second-half rally to within fi ve to beat the Wildcats 43-32.
“We played well enough to win,” Westchester boys coach David Carrier said. “It was two even teams battling it out, and I guess they made one more play than we did. But I was proud of our guys. They did a pretty good job, and we’re just getting better. It’s a long season and this game hurts, but it’s not going to do anything but make us stronger.”
Isaiah Todd — the No. 7 recruit in ESPN’s national rankings for the class of 2020 — scored 23 points to lead the Tigers (12-7), which outscored the Wildcats 46-35 over the middle two quarters to tie the game after trailing by 11 to end the first. Jake Bertolini-Felice added 22 points followed by Tyler Gill
with 14 points.
Nick Brown, who has signed with Navy, scored 22 points for Westchester (7-8), which quickly jumped ahead in the fi rst quarter with outside shooting and stingy defense. Tyler Matthews, who hit five 3-pointers, added 17 points while Syrus Sadler followed with 16 points.
The Wildcats, who led by as many as 13 points in the second Bquarter and 10 points in the third, kept racing ahead. But Trinity kept making runs to get back in it, and the score was tied 71-71 with 1:55 left in the game after Luke Johnson made two free throws.
“We’d get a nice eight- or 10-point lead and they’d immediately cut into it,” Carrier said.“So, they did a good job of keeping contact. If we could’ve stretched it out to 16 or something like that, I think we
could’ve spread them out a little more. But they’re a good team. We knew they wouldn’t quit.They have a good player we have to give a lot of attention to, but they’re a good team.”
Following a flurry of putbacks,Trinity regained the lead when it made of two free throws with 1:36 left. Westchester— twice forcing turnovers on defense — had the ball threetimes with a chance to go ahead. But a layup and a 3-pointer missed and the Wildcats turned the ball over on their final possession to end the game.
“Toward the end of the game, we had a couple good looks that didn’t quite go down,” Carrier said. “And then at the very end of the game, I take responsibility. We had the ball and I probably should’ve called timeout and got us into something better — and that’s what I told my team. “We felt like we could get Nick in a position to attack,” he said of the game’s final play, which was disrupted by the defense before Westchester could get off a shot.
“They did a good job of trying to deny him the ball. We have other good players too, and they stepped up as well. “It was a well-played game and I hate that we came out on the short end. But it’s going to help us be stronger down the road.”
BY MICHAEL LINDSAY ENTERPRISE SPORTS WRITER
HIGH POINT — Westchester Country Day did a lot of things well against a good team with one of the best players in the country. But it couldn’t quite make the plays down the stretch to win. The Cougars led by 13 points in the first half but found themselvesin a close game late into the fourth quarter. Trinity Academy — led by top recruit Isaiah Todd — made a couple key plays over the final two minutes to beat NWestchester 72-71 in nonconference boys basketball Monday at Westchester.
In the girls game, Trinity used an eight-point burst in the second quarter to lead by double digits, then held off Westchester’s second-half rally to within fi ve to beat the Wildcats 43-32.
“We played well enough to win,” Westchester boys coach David Carrier said. “It was two even teams battling it out, and I guess they made one more play than we did. But I was proud of our guys. They did a pretty good job, and we’re just getting better. It’s a long season and this game hurts, but it’s not going to do anything but make us stronger.”
Isaiah Todd — the No. 7 recruit in ESPN’s national rankings for the class of 2020 — scored 23 points to lead the Tigers (12-7), which outscored the Wildcats 46-35 over the middle two quarters to tie the game after trailing by 11 to end the first. Jake Bertolini-Felice added 22 points followed by Tyler Gill
with 14 points.
Nick Brown, who has signed with Navy, scored 22 points for Westchester (7-8), which quickly jumped ahead in the fi rst quarter with outside shooting and stingy defense. Tyler Matthews, who hit five 3-pointers, added 17 points while Syrus Sadler followed with 16 points.
The Wildcats, who led by as many as 13 points in the second Bquarter and 10 points in the third, kept racing ahead. But Trinity kept making runs to get back in it, and the score was tied 71-71 with 1:55 left in the game after Luke Johnson made two free throws.
“We’d get a nice eight- or 10-point lead and they’d immediately cut into it,” Carrier said.“So, they did a good job of keeping contact. If we could’ve stretched it out to 16 or something like that, I think we
could’ve spread them out a little more. But they’re a good team. We knew they wouldn’t quit.They have a good player we have to give a lot of attention to, but they’re a good team.”
Following a flurry of putbacks,Trinity regained the lead when it made of two free throws with 1:36 left. Westchester— twice forcing turnovers on defense — had the ball threetimes with a chance to go ahead. But a layup and a 3-pointer missed and the Wildcats turned the ball over on their final possession to end the game.
“Toward the end of the game, we had a couple good looks that didn’t quite go down,” Carrier said. “And then at the very end of the game, I take responsibility. We had the ball and I probably should’ve called timeout and got us into something better — and that’s what I told my team. “We felt like we could get Nick in a position to attack,” he said of the game’s final play, which was disrupted by the defense before Westchester could get off a shot.
“They did a good job of trying to deny him the ball. We have other good players too, and they stepped up as well. “It was a well-played game and I hate that we came out on the short end. But it’s going to help us be stronger down the road.”
