Trinity Episcopal scores boys basketball rivalry win over Collegiate

They wouldn’t go away.

Not easily, anyway.

Not the Collegiate Cougars. Not on Senior Night. Not before their home crowd Saturday on the Steve Hickman Court.

Sure, the Trinity Episcopal Titans held a 49-43 lead after three quarters.

Sure, Coach Andrew Blazar’s guys, ranked No. 12 in the VISAA, Division I standings, needed a win in the worst possible way to keep their state playoff hopes alive.

Whatever they threw at the Cougars, though — withering defensive pressure, strikes from behind the arc, power in the paint, double digit leads — the Cougars, resilient and undaunted, answered. 

Then came the fourth quarter. 

That’s when the Titans broke the game open.

That’s when they used 10-for-13 shooting and a 9-3 rebounding advantage to pull away and secure a 75-55 Prep League victory.

“Collegiate’s always been a rival of ours,” said Blazar. “This year’s team, like years past, plays so hard. We came in knowing we’d be in for a battle.

“We tried to get as ready as we could. At the end of the day, we knew what we needed to do and what we needed to accomplish. We have a few weeks left. Our guys are hungry to finish strong.”

Keaton Gregory, a 6-9 junior forward, set the tone for the Titans with a 3-pointer from just above the top of the key 18 seconds into the game to ignite a 13-3 blitz.

The Cougars gained their bearings in short order and used three close-range buckets, two by Chasen Beggerow (15 points) and the other by Danny Mooney, to cut their deficit to 15-6 at the quarter.

Beggerow, a 6-0 sophomore guard, opened the second period with a 3-pointer from the right wing. Quinn Tillinghast followed with a layup off Jayden Smith’s assist to trim Trinity’s lead to 15-14.

The Titans then launched into a 21-10 run keyed by 6-4 junior Jackson Rutley’s 3-pointer and the inside power of Gregory, 6-5 junior Maddox Patrick, and 6-5 freshman Jeremiah Robinson to take a 36-24 lead into halftime.

“Collegiate is a really good, disciplined team,” said Gregory (12 points).  “They have a lot of game plans that they can use whether that’s doubling the post or icing ball screens, and things like that to get us out of our flow.

“As the game went on, we got back in that flow and started looking at mismatches a little bit more. When we use those mismatches, we’re really tough to beat.”

The Cougars, whose tallest player stands 6-3, were not finished.

They opened the third quarter with a 10-2 surge and closed to 38-34 when Beggerow hit a 3-pointer from the left baseline off a Mooney penetrate-and-kick-out assist.

Gregory’s dunk followed by Rutley’s driving layup through the Cougars’ man-to-man put Trinity up 49-40 with 1:30 left in the third, but 3-of-4 from the line by 6-1 senior Henry Brost (12 points) enabled the Cougars to close to six with eight minutes remaining.

Scrapping, clawing, and holding their own in the paint, the Cougars felt empowered. 

It was still anybody’s game.

Then, quickly, it wasn’t.

In the first four minutes of the final period, the Titans used a 15-6 run (3-pointer and three buckets from close range by Rutley plus six points, four by Robinson, two by Gregory, from the paint) to take a 65-49 lead and gain firm control of the momentum.

The Cougars scrambled back to 13 points twice, once on Mooney’s two free throws and then on Brost’s putback, but Charlie Witthoefft’s 3-pointer at 1:45 ended any hope, albeit faint, for a Collegiate comeback.

“We had to go in there, play good defense, rebound, push the ball, and just score,” said Rutley (24 points). 

“We started playing really good team basketball (in the fourth quarter). We were moving the ball around, cutting, and finishing shots. We found our pace and really took advantage of it.”

The Titans connected on 29-of-52 field goal attempts and outrebounded Collegiate 33-25. The Cougars shot 21-for-48. Each team committed nine turnovers.

The Cougars are 8-10. Trinity, which starts three juniors and two freshmen, improved to 9-9.

“Not to use this as an excuse, but we’re a really young, brand new team,” said Gregory, one of five holdovers from last year. “We needed a while to get used to each other. We have two freshman guards (Kane Winiarski and Robinson) who start in the back court. Jackson’s brand new.

“It took us a little bit to find ourselves. What we’re trying to do now is play to the best of our standards.”