Union County High School outscored host and top seed Trenton 18-13 in the final quarter, but it wasn’t enough for the second seed Tigers in a 48-43 loss in the championship game of the District 6-Rural boys basketball tournament on Feb. 7.
The second seed Tigers (14-8), which never led and trailed by double digits for most of the game, fell behind 10-0. Jaylen Pierre hit a pull-up jumper to score the Tigers’ first points with less than three minutes remaining in the first quarter. It was the first of three baskets he had in the quarter as Union pulled to within 10-6.
The Tigers, unfortunately, didn’t shoot well in the first half, making just five of its 21 field-goal attempts.
A rebound putback by Jackson Andersen-Davis left Union trailing 13-8, but Trenton (22-4) answered with seven straight points, getting two-point baskets from Marc Micale and Noah Owens and a three-point basket from Mason VunCannon.
R.J. Odom made a free throw, while Tyrese Chandler knocked down a jumper to help the Tigers cut their deficit to single digits with less than one minute remaining in the half, but two free throws by Owens sent Trenton into the half leading 22-11.
Union scored six of the first nine points of the third quarter. Baskets by Chandler, Odom and Pierre made it a 25-17 game.
Andersen-Davis scored off an offensive rebound and was fouled, making the awarded free throw and leaving the Tigers trailing 27-20. Trenton’s Micale, though, got an old-fashioned three-point play of his own to increase Union’s deficit to 10, which was the margin entering the final quarter.
The Tigers’ Garrison Smith, who didn’t score in the first three quarters, sank a three-point shot early in the fourth to make it an eight-point game, but Trenton’s Tyler Bullis answered by sinking his own three-point shot. It was Trenton’s fifth three-point basket of the game.
With less than two minutes remaining, VunCannon made two free throws to put Trenton up by 11. Smith then had a basket for the Tigers before Trenton’s Micale was fouled with 1:06 to play. Micale made 1 of 2 free-throw attempts to make it a 44-34 game.
Odom scored on a drive to the basket. H was fouled on the play and made the awarded free throw to cut Trenton’s lead to seven.
Bullis went to the foul line with 46 seconds on the clock, making both free throws to extend Trenton’s lead to nine. After a missed shot by Union, Bullis was sent to the foul line again. This time, he missed both attempts with 28 seconds to play.
Smith made a three-pointer to make the score 46-40 before Trenton’s Nathan Ridgell sank two free throws with eight seconds on the clock.
Another three-point basket by Smith as time expired gave him 13 points for the game. Odom finished with nine, while Chandler and Pierre each had eight. Andersen-Davis added five points.
