The West Central Trojan boys basketball rallied against the Sioux Falls Lincoln Patriots on Saturday, February 6th in Hartford, but just ran out of time as the Patriots held off the Trojans 60-55.

The Patriots muscled their way to a 14-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.  They extended the lead to 24-11 with 4:15 to play in the second quarter and ended the first half  leading 32-17.

Sioux Falls Lincoln again extended their lead in the first half of the third quarter.  The Patriots led 41-24 with 4:00 left in the quarter.  The Trojans cut the lead to 10 points at 45-35 heading into the fourth quarter.  West Central got within three points with just :15 on the clock, 58-55, but ran out of time in their rally.

West Central finished the game shooting 38% (21-55) from the field, 30% (7-23) from three-point area, but only 43% (6-14) from the free-throw line.  The Patriots took advantage of their trips to the free-throw line going 16-22 in the game.

Derek Eidsness led the Trojans with 22 points, nine rebounds, and three assists.  Wilson Droge had 10 points and three assists.  Grafton Stroup had nine points, and Zane Crawford finished with eight points.

The Trojans (8-6) will travel to Madison on Tuesday, February 9th.

An early 6-1 start to the game helped the West Central Trojans to a 50-32 victory over the Clark-Willow Lake Cyclones at the Dak-12/NEC Conference Clash in Madison on Saturday, January 30th.

The Trojans never trailed in the game after the 6-1 start.  They turned that run into a 16-9 lead at the end of the first quarter.  West Central pushed the lead to 10 points by halftime at 23-13 as both teams struggled offensively in the second quarter.  Neither team scored in the second quarter until a Wilson Droge basket with 2:41 to play in the half.

The Cyclones were able to get within seven points at 28-21 with 4:20 to play in the third quarter, but that was as close as the Trojans would let them get.  West Central closed out the quarter on an 8-2 run to lead 36-23 heading into the fourth quarter.  The Trojans pushed the lead to 18 points at 46-28 with just under three minutes to play lock down the win.

Derek Eidsness finished with 17 points and four rebounds.  Hunter Hagerty added 11 points.  Droge had seven points and three rebounds.  Jack Linneman also had seven points.

West Central (7-5) will play three straight home games.  They will host Tri-Valley on Tuesday, February 2nd, Tea Area on Thursday, February 4th, and then Sioux Falls Lincoln on Saturday, February 6th.

The West Central Trojan boys basketball team traveled to Watertown to play the Arrows on Thursday, January 28th.  Watertown pulled away late in the fourth quarter for a 61-53 win.

The Arrows grabbed the lead in the first quarter and led 14-9 at the break.  West Central closed the gap in the second quarter to 25-24 by halftime.  The Trojans looked to be making a run in the third quarter as they took a 35-31 lead with 3:45 to play in the quarter.  Watertown finished the quarter on a 9-4 run to lead 40-39.  The Arrows continued to build on the lead, but the Trojans pulled within three at 53-50 with 3:30 to play.  Watertown closed out the game on an 8-3 run for the 61-53 win.

Derek Eidsness had a team-high 20 points.  Zane Crawford finished with 11 points.  Jacob Krempges had eight points, and Hunter Hagerty had seven points.

The Trojans (6-5) will play Clark-Willow Lake in the Dak-12/NEC Clash in Madison at 11:45 on Saturday, January 30th.

The West Central Trojan boys basketball team hosted the Garretson Blue Dragons in a make-up game on Monday, January 25th.  West Central got the 66-59 win for their third straight victory.

After a close first quarter, the Trojans pulled away in the middle stages of the game.  West Central had a 12-11 lead heading into the second quarter, and then outscored Garretson 23-16 for a 35-27 halftime lead.

West Central put the game away in the third quarter.  The Trojan defense held Garretson to just seven third-quarter points while scoring 25 to lead 50-34 heading into the fourth quarter.  The Blue Dragons scored 25 points of their own in the fourth quarter, but it was too late for Garretson as West Central held on to the lead for the win.

Derrick Eich led the team in scoring with 18 points.  Zane Crawford finished with 12 points and six rebounds.  Hunter Hagerty added eight points and three steals.  Wilson Droge had five rebounds and three steals.  Kasan Abedi led the team in assists with five.

West Central (6-3) will travel to Vermillion to play the undefeated Tanagers on Tuesday, January 26th.

It wasn’t the easiest of wins for the West Central Trojan boys basketball team, but they were able to get a 52-45 victory over the Lennox Orioles on Thursday, January 21st in Lennox.

The Trojans found themselves trailing early in the game.  Lennox held a 14-10 at the end of the first quarter, and extended it to six points early in the second quarter.  West Central was able to battle back from the deficit and take a 24-23 lead into halftime.

The Trojans continued to grind out the physical game and grow the lead in the third quarter.  West Central led 39-32 heading into the final quarter.  The Trojans kept about a seven point lead throughout the entire fourth quarter for the win.

Derek Eidsness had 12 points, 11 rebounds, and two assists to lead the Trojans.  Jacob Krempges also had 11 points along with six rebounds, and four steals.  Kasan Abedi and Hunter Hagerty both ended the night with eight points and four rebounds.

West Central (5-3) will host Garretson on Monday, January 25th.

The West Central Trojan boys basketball team got a victory over Region 3A foe, Baltic Bulldogs, on the road on Monday, January 19th.  The Trojans took the win comfortably by a score of 62-40.

Baltic never really challenged the Trojans in the game.   West Central had a 13-4 lead at the end of the first quarter and continued to grow it throughout the game.  The Trojans led 25-10 at halftime, and then 42-21 at the end of the third quarter.

West Central took advantage of the offensive struggles of Baltic.  The Bulldogs shot just 35% from the field and committed 24 turnovers.  The Trojans were 51% (26-51) from the field, 32% (6-19) from three-point area, but just 4-12 from the free-throw line.

Zane Crawford had 12 points and four rebounds.  Derek Eidsness had 11 points, four assists, three steals, and three rebounds.  Jaxon Skinner had nine points and three rebounds.  Kasan Abedi also had nine points and two rebounds.  Hunter Hagerty finished with eight points and three rebounds.  Derek Eich added six points.

West Central (4-3) will travel to Lennox on Thursday, January 21st.

The West Central Trojan boys basketball team went toe-to-toe with the #1 Dakota Valley Panthers at home on Tuesday, January 12th, but the Panthers took the win 78-70.

Both teams got up and down the court quick in the first two quarters of the game.  The first quarter went back-and-forth, and the Trojans held a 24-23 lead at the end of the first quarter.  They were able to outscore the Panthers by a point again in the second quarter for a 44-42 halftime lead.

The turning point in the game happened at the start of the third quarter.  Dakota Valley went on a 7-0 run to go ahead 49-44 in the first minutes of the second half.  That run proved to be the difference in the game.  The Panthers pushed the lead to 67-59 heading into the fourth quarter.  After Dakota Valley scored the first two points of the fourth quarter, West Central went on a 7-0 run to pull within three points at 69-66 with 4:51 left in the game, but that was as close as the Trojans would get.

West Central finished shooting 54% (30-56) from the field, 33% (6-18) from three-point area, and 4-5 from the free-throw line.  Dakota Valley was 51% (27-53) from the field, 33% (8-24) from three-point area, but held a big advantage on the free-throw line going 15-20.

Zane Crawford led the team in scoring with 18 points and also had two rebounds and two steals.  Hunter Hagerty had 15 points and four rebounds.  Kasan Abedi finished with 11 points.  Jaxon Skinner had eight points and five rebounds, while Jacob Krempges added seven points, six rebounds, and three assists.  Derek Eidsness had four points, five rebounds, and five assists.

West Central (3-3) will host Garretson on Thursday, January 14th.

The West Central Trojan boys basketball team won their third straight game on Saturday, January 2nd at the Sacred Hoops Classic in Mitchell.  The Trojans got a 52-41 victory over the Custer Wildcats.

The Trojans never trailed in the game.  They worked to a five-point lead by the end of the first quarter, 13-8.  The Trojans were able to push the lead to seven by halftime at 23-16.  West Central took control of the game in the third quarter.  They pushed the lead to 19 points at 41-22 with :45 to go in the quarter.  Custer made a little run in the fourth quarter, but the Trojans were able to hold off the Wildcat comeback.

West Central finished the game at 38% (20-52) from the field, 32% (7-22) from three-point area, and 56% (5-9) from the free-throw line.  The Trojans also out rebounded Custer 32-24 in the game.

The Trojans had a balanced scoring attack.  Carter Schmeichel had 10 points and four rebounds.  Hunter Hagerty, who was named the game’s MVP for the Trojans, finished with nine points and three rebounds.   Kasan Abedi had seven points, Derrick Eich finished with six points, and Jacob Krempges and Derek Eidsness both had five points each.  Jaxon Skinner had a team-high six rebounds.  Krempges had four assists.

West Central (3-2) will host Dakota Valley on Tuesday, January 12th.

The West Central Trojan boys basketball team won their second game in a row when the defeated the Winner Warriors at home on Friday, December 18th.   West Central increased their lead at the end of every quarter.

It was a close game in the first quarter.  The Trojans led by just a point, 15-14, at the end of the quarter.  They were able to push the lead to nine points by halftime at 31-22.  West Central was able to increase the lead by two points by the end of the third quarter and led 50-39 heading into the final quarter of play.  West Central put the game out of reach in the fourth quarter by outscoring Winner 19-8 for the win.

Zane Crawford had a game-high 29 points.  Jacob Krempges had eight points and six assists.  Jaxon Skinner tallied eight points, eight rebounds, and three assists.  Derek Eidsness finished with seven rebounds and three assists.

The Trojans (2-2) will take a break for a little over a week.  West Central will play Hamlin in Watertown on Tuesday, December 29th.