Serving Southern Jefferson County in the Great State of Montana

Trojans impressive in win over Missoula Loyola

Trailing 16-10 at the end of the first quarter Friday night against Missoula Loyola, the Whitehall High School boys basketball team came out firing on all cylinders in the second quarter. The Trojans outscored the visiting Rams 18-4 in the quarter on their way to a 72-58 victory.

Following the game, Trojans head coach Zach McLean praised his teams defensive effort, especially after switching from zone to straight man to man in the second quarter.

"That's the best defense we've had all year long. Holding a really good team to four points in a quarter is really good," McLean said.

Prior to the game, McLean told his team the game against the Rams was a chance to send a message about how good Whitehall can be to out to the rest of the teams in the state, and said that is what they were able to accomplish by beating a very good Missoula Loyola team.

"It feels very good. They (Loyola) are one of the best teams in the West. It was a good win for us," he said.

The Trojans (7-3) were led in scoring by junior Max Feight who had a game high 28 points. Senior Wyatt Alexander also had a huge game for Whitehall with 21 points. Senior Ryan Murphy was also in double figures with 10 points. Braden Smith added seven points, Cade Briggs had four, and Sawyer Keener finished with two.

McLean told his players the sky is the limit if they play with the effort they did against the Rams.

"There are a couple things you can control and effort is one of them. We talk about that along. Effort and execution are two things you can control, and they did both tonight which was a great thing to see," he said.

The Trojans opened the week in impressive fashion with a 62-40 win Thursday night over visiting Townsend. Whitehall came out of the gates strong taking a 20-10 lead at the end of the first quarter. After a Bulldogs rally in the third quarter, the Trojans finished with a bang outscoring Townsend 22-9 in the fourth.

Whitehall was led in scoring by Feight who had a game high 28 points. Alexander was also in double figures with 16 points. Smith had seven, Murphy added six, Sawyer Keener finished with three and Cade Briggs had two points.

Whitehall will play their next four games on the road, the first Thursday night against seventh-ranked Anaconda.

McLean said they will a good opponent in a tough place to play, but his team will be ready.

 

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