Trojans rely on defense and depth to win conference opener

By MATT KING\Daily Journal Sports Writer

STE. GENEVIEVE -- The Potosi Trojans forced 23 turnovers and placed 10 players in the scoring column on Wednesday to open their conference schedule with a 58-43 road victory over the Ste. Genevieve Dragons.

Potosi (10-4) received a strong performance from its bench which outscored Ste. Genevieve's non-starters 32-0. Brandon Casey led the Trojans in scoring with 13 points, while senior guard Bryce Malloy chipped in with 10.

Ste. Genevieve (6-8), decimated by injuries throughout the season, saw its five starters play a large majority of the contest. Senior Mitch Meyer scored a game-high 21 points for the Dragons, but the Potosi defense managed to keep Ste. Genevieve relatively quiet inside over the course of the action.

"Our game plan on defense was to try and take away their inside game," said Potosi coach Mike Mapes. "Our defense on the guards also produced some turnovers and gave us some easy baskets."

Both teams struggled to take care of the basketball in the first quarter. The Dragons found junior Garrett Ditch inside for two early baskets during the opening minutes, but the Trojans surged to an 11-4 lead on transition baskets by Lee Jackson and Kevin Brown.

A mid-range jumper following a nice spin move by Meyer broke a scoring drought of nearly four minutes by the Dragons, but Jackson answered with a three-pointer on Potosi's ensuing possession. The Trojans committed seven of their 20 turnovers in the first quarter, but still led 16-8 at its conclusion.

Casey converted a good outlet pass into a layup to give Potosi its largest lead of the first half at 22-10, but the Dragons battled back before the break. After Ditch connected with a short hook shot in the paint, Meyer drained a jumper near the free-throw stripe, trimming the deficit to 23-18 with 2:10 left.

Potosi regained the momentum with strong penetration to the basket. A baseline pass to Brad Thebeau for two, and a driving layup by Malloy extended the lead to nine. Casey then knocked down all three free throw attempts after being fouled on a mid-court shot with no time remaining to give the Trojans a 34-22 halftime edge.

An offensive putback by Malloy gave Potosi a 16-point lead early in the third, but the Dragons again refused to back down. Meyer hit a triple and made steals on back-to-back defensive series, leading to a basket from Ditch which pulled Ste. Genevieve to within 38-29.

Potosi answered with a key 11-2 run over the final 3:15 of the period to strengthen their command of the game. The Trojan lead reached its peak early in the fourth quarter when Brett Walton cashed in on a steal to make it 53-34.

Ste. Genevieve never slashed the difference to single digits again, but did draw to within 13 points on a Meyer layup during the final minute.

Potosi shot just 18-32 at the free-throw line, but made enough of them down the stretch to stay well in front. The Dragons struggled worse at the charity stripe, hitting only 8-17 attempts.

"It was kind of a sluggish game. We turned the ball over a few too many times," added Mapes, "but with this being our first conference game, it's a big win. Only three teams in our league start conference play at 1-0."

Potosi will host Central in another important MAAA Large-School match-up on Friday. Ste. Genevieve will travel to North County on Friday, hoping to snap a six-game losing streak.

Potosi - 16 18 10 14 - 58

Ste. Genevieve - 8 14 9 12 - 43

SCORING:

Potosi - B Casey 13, B Malloy 10, J Brown 7, J Politte 7, B Thebeau 6, L Jackson 5, K Brown 5, J Newcomer 2, B Walton 2, T Breakfield 1.

3-pointers - B Malloy 1, L Jackson 1.

Ste. Genevieve - M Meyer 21, G Ditch 11, K Faulkner 4, M Schlueter 4, J Donze 3.

3-pointers - M Meyer 1.