MORGANTOWN – The Trinity Christian High boys basketball team is having one of the biggest turnarounds from last season in the entire state in any class.
After finishing 5-16 a year ago, the Warriors are now one of the top teams in Class A, with one of the state’s leading scorers in senior Austin Porta, pouring in over 25 points per contest. He’s doing so while shooting over 50% from the field.
Porta entered Monday averaging 29.8 points across his last six games, with totals of 40 and 32 in the Warriors’ last two wins. His latest effort against Bishop Walsh (Md.) helped give TCS its 11th win of the campaign (its 10th straight).
He finished Monday’s victory with 22 points, three assists, and four steals, shooting 8 of 16 from the field. His six three-pointers bring his season total up to 61. He also adds 4.0 assists and 3.5 rebounds per night for his team.
“I feel that my shot has been there all season, but being later in the season, our team has improved overall when it comes to running our offense and understanding spacing,” Porta said. “We have some willing and talented passers on the team in all positions with Maddox (Mousadis) and Collin (Lemley), and they find me in the right spots to knock down open shots.”
Porta isn’t the only Warrior averaging double-figure scoring this season as Mousadis (17.1) and Lemley (16.5) each join him in the effort, and combine to add nearly ten assists.
“We have more players this season to take the pressure off,” Porta said. “Maddox is such a great passer, and Collin plays the inside-out game well down low. Compared to last year, when we were all taking a lot of contested shots, this season we’ve been able to find more space and get open looks.”
After leading 11-6 after the opening frame against Bishop Walsh on Monday, the Warriors outscored their opponents 25-4 in the second. Porta and Mousadis caught fire in the quarter, beginning with back-to-back triples with two minutes to play that extended the lead to 16, 26-10. TCS ended the second quarter on a 16-0 run to lead 36-10 at the break.
Mousadis added 17 points, five steals, four assists, and three rebounds to earn MVP honors. Lemley contributed nine points, ten rebounds, six assists, three steals, and a block. Eight different Warriors scored at least one field goal.
BOX SCORE
Trinity Christian 71, Bishop Walsh 35
BWHS 6 4 16 9 – 35
TCS 11 25 11 24 – 71
Bishop Walsh (2-9) – Miller 4 0-0 8 Caporale 4 2-5 11 Wilson 6 0-0 14 Odone 1 0-0 2
Trinity Christian (11-1) – Porta 8 0-0 22 Mousadis 7 0-0 17 Lemley 4 1-2 9 Humbertson 3 2-2 9 Bland 2 1-2 5 Archer 1 3-4 5 Stephens 2 0-0 4 Zmija 1 0-0 2
3pt goals made: Trinity Christian 10 (Porta 6 Mousadis 3 Humbertson 1); Bishop Walsh 3 (Wilson 2 Caporale 1).
