MORGANTOWN – Trinity Christian High School boys basketball head coach Mitchell Bland and well-known icon Aretha Franklin have one thing in common: they both just want a little respect.
That’s exactly what Bland and his Warriors were asking before tip-off in Thursday’s Class A contest against cross-county rival and fourth-ranked Clay-Battelle, as they have yet to crack the top ten of the coaches poll despite a 12-3 record.
Led by the trio of Austin Porta, Maddox Mousadis, and Collin Lemley, Trinity Christian (13-3) proved they belong in the conversation of the state’s top teams with a 59-49 victory over the Cee-Bees high on the hill in Sabraton.
Porta led the way with a game-high 27 points for TCS, connecting on half of his 14 shot attempts and going perfect at the free-throw line (10/10). Mousadis added 18 points, four rebounds, and four assists, also adding a pair of steals and blocks.
Lemley scored eight points and ripped down 14 huge rebounds against a physical C-B team, while also dishing three assists.
C-B (11-3) was led by Colt Sandy with 21 points on eight made field goals. Cooper Payton added eight points.
“I can’t even explain how much I love these kids on our team,” Bland said. “I’ve coached a lot of teams, and these kids just fight. They work hard in practice, and they’re never satisfied. When no one is giving us the respect we’ve earned, they don’t let it get to them one bit and just go out and play basketball. I thought we were efficient on both ends of the floor tonight and played a complementary game.”
The Cee-Bees held an early 4-2 lead in the opening minutes of the first quarter, but Porta hit two of his three total 3-pointers to give the Warriors a lead they wouldn’t surrender for the remainder of the evening.
TCS led 13-9 after a physical opening frame, and it carried that momentum into the second, starting strong and swelling the lead to eight, 19-11, as Porta converted a layup 90 seconds in.
Sandy helped the visitors cut the lead to four (23-19) just before halftime, but a bucket at the horn by the Warriors saw the lead at six entering the break.
“We executed our gameplan well tonight,” Bland said. “We didn’t want their shooter (Trey Huggins) to get open looks. It’s hard to stop Sandy, but Collin did a great job on him defensively. This is a team we may see again, and we will have to be ready if that happens.”
C-B kept the game within reach in the third quarter, but was unable to get closer than five points to the Warriors’ lead.
The fourth saw a different story, as the visitors quickly closed the gap, eventually tying the game at 41 as a layup by Sandy.
However, TCS freshman Ty Hutson answered with a massive triple to slam the door on the Cee-Bees’ comeback attempt. The Warriors extended the lead to five on the next possession and closed the game out down the stretch.
Clay-Battelle will return home on Saturday for a rematch with East Hardy, while the Warriors will visit Magnolia before hosting an OVAC 1A semifinal against Frontier (Oh.) on February 10.
BOX SCORE
Trinity Christian 59, Clay-Battelle 49
C-B 9 10 13 17 – 49
TCS 13 12 12 22 – 59
Clay-Battelle (11-3) – Sandy 8 5-8 21 Payton 4 0-0 8 T. Huggins 2 0-0 6 J. Huggins 1 0-0 3 Kisner 1 0-0 3 Statler 0 2-2 2 Ponceroff 1 0-0 2
Trinity Christian (13-3) – Porta 7 10-10 27 Mousadis 7 4-4 18 Lemley 3 2-2 8 Humberson 1 0-0 3 Hutson 1 0-0 3
3pt goals made: Clay-Battelle 4 (T Huggins 2 J Huggins 1 Kisner 1); Trinity Christian 5 (Porta 3 Humberson 1 Hutson 1).
