Triad Basketball ends skid versus Freeburg

By Editor | December 24, 2023 |

TROY — Triad basketball has a less than ideal trip to Mascoutah on Dec. 19.

The Knights, who entered the evening tied for the Mississippi Valley Conference, only led the contest once through the affair when Owen Droy started them ahead 2-0. By the end of the first quarter, they trailed 20-6.

By the end of a seven triple first half for the Indians, their lead was furthered to 35-11.

The closest Triad would pull in the second half was a 40-19 deficit in the third quarter. Ultimately, Mascoutah tallied a 49-28 victory.

The loss marked the third consecutive for the Knights, who fell to 6-4 overall and 2-2 in Mississippi Valley Conference play.

Dec. 22 stood as Triad’s next opportunity to end the losing streak, with them hosting Freeburg. Prior to their visit to Troy, the Midgets held a 7-4 mark and had won six of their last seven.

Four lead changes through the first quarter of play resulted in an 11-7 Knight advantage.

A more patient approach directed by Coach Jeff Guidry helped fuel the moderate lead, “Especially in the first half, we really wanted to control the pace a little bit more. There were probably a few times where we had a chance for some transition points or something but we were playing at a 50 to 60 percent pace to start the game versus 100.”

Their deliberate pace scored further dividends as they pulled ahead 26-15 at the break. Junior Drew Winslow led all scorers with 11 points at intermission, which brought his career tally to 802.

With a 14-2 run out of the break, the Knights further grounded their edge over the Midgets. Triad led 42-22 at the end of three before going on to claim a 54-25 victory.

Tallying 18 points, Winslow led all scorers on the night. Landon Zawodniak and Ethan Stewart both added 10, with Tyler Thompson notching 9 more for the Knights.

“We just played our way. Our defense is what drives us and what has driven us and we came out and did a really good job defensively. On offense we played with some confidence. We just didn’t have confidence offensively the last two games,” Coach Guidry reviewed the team’s turnaround win.

Next up for the Knights is the Collinsville Prairie Farms Holiday Classic. Triad opens the multi-day event with a Dec. 27 4:30 p.m. tipoff against Carbondale.

When they meet up with the 5-7 Terriers, the Knights will be met with another challenge of sorts: a 35 second shot clock. The time limit on possessions is being used for the second consecutive season at the Collinsville event, which is allowed under an experimental policy by the IHSA.

Triad’s manager is looking forward to the extra clock, “We’ll work on some of that in our two practices next week. We got [shot clocks] in the gym now, so that that helps a little.”

Ethan Stewart charges towards the basket versus Freeburg. (Photo by Anthony Jones)