EDINBURGH

It was a tough day for a pair of Jackson County schools as the Edinburgh Classic holiday tournament wrapped-up on Wednesday.

Both Medora and Trinity Lutheran’s boys basketball teams fell short in their contests and will enter the new year with losing records.

Hornets fall to Eagles, still searching for first win

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While the Medora boys basketball team will remain win-less heading into the new year, they still ended 2016 on a high note.

Despite a 70-62 loss to Christel House Academy in the seventh place game of the Edinburgh Classic, Hornets coach Mark Morin said the team played their best game of the season thus far.

In the opening quarter, the Hornets’ Brandon Moore caught fire from the field early.

Down 6-0, Moore scored six straight points for Medora (0-11) to tie the game at the 4:14 mark.

The Eagles (2-8) responded with a 6-0 run, but back-to-back 3-pointers from Moore and Tony Norklun retired the game.

A score by the Eagles’ Tahj Bundy with 13 seconds on the clock put his team up 14-12.

Medora’s ball distribution improved in the second quarter, as five players got on the score sheet.

The Hornets scored eight straight from 5:26 to 2:45, led by treys from Moore and Isaiah Myers, to build a 25-18 advantage.

Right before the halftime buzzer, with less than a second left, Moore was followed on a full court shot attempt.

Moore hit all three free throws, and the Hornets led 35-28 at intermission.

The Eagles started hitting shots in the third quarter, as they went on a 8-2 run by the 3:14 mark in part of six points from Bundy.

A 3-pointer and field goal from Moore put the Hornets back on top, 42-39, with 1:26 left in the third quarter, but the Eagles finished the period with seven unanswered points to lead 48-42.

The teams traded baskets through the first four minutes of the fourth quarter until an and-one conversion by Jerome Hilliard and bucket from Bundy gave the Eagles a 63-51 lead at 2:19.

Despite making seven of eight free throws down the stretch, the Hornets couldn’t muster a comeback.

“That was by far the best game we’ve played all year,” Hornets coach Mark Morin said. “Here lately, (Moore) has been scoring two-thirds of our points. It was great to see other guys step up. Besides some unforced turnovers, I couldn’t have asked them to play any better than they played. I felt like we got better today. If we play like that, we will get some ‘W’s’ in the new year.”

The Hornets sank 10 3-pointers in the game, led by five from Moore.

Moore led the Hornets with 34 points, JD Fish totaled nine and Gavin Henson scored eight. Bundy scored 28 points and Jeff Davis added 20 to the Eagles’ final score.

“His shot selection has been better,” Morin said of Moore. “At the beginning of the year, he was taking 30-footers with hands in his face. We were moving the ball a lot better today, and he was able to take better shots. He played a heck of a game (Wednesday).”

On the boards the Eagles dominated the Hornets 39-23.

Medora finished with 18 turnovers to the Eagles’ 14 giveaways.

Medora finished 0-3 in holiday tournament play.

“It’s easy, when you get beat by 46 the day before (to Indianapolis Lutheran), to put our heads down (against Christel House Academy)” Morin said. ” It says a lot about our kids, how they played today. There’s no question that they’re not going to give up. Hopefully good things will come as they keep working.”

Cougars place sixth in field

A stale second quarter plagued Trinity Lutheran in the fifth place game, as they never saw the lead after the half in a 69-43 loss to Indianapolis Lutheran.

An and-one from Colton Wischmeier and 3-pointer by Jacob Rowe helped the Cougars (3-7) take a 7-4 lead with 5:49 on the clock in the first quarter.

The Saints (4-2) responded with a 7-0 run capped by a trey from Brandon Perry.

After eight minutes of play, the Cougars trailed 16-12.

Lutheran dominated the second quarter, outscoring the Cougars 26-9.

The Saints opened with a 10-2 run, in part of two 3-pointers, before a basket from Trinity’s Kendall White halted the spree at 26-16 at the 4:25-mark.

From 2:54 to 1:03, the Saints strung together 10 unanswered points together — six of which coming from Perry.

Back-to-back baskets by White concluded the half, but the Cougars trailed 42-21.

In the first half, the Saints dominated the boards, outrebounding the Cougars 20-9.

“They had at least seven offensive rebounds in the first half which lead to about nine of their points,” Cougars coach Brian Stuckwisch said. “That was pretty much the story of the second quarter.”

The pace of the game slowed in the third quarter.

Trinity mustered a 7-2 run midway through the third quarter — highlighted by a trey from Chad Stuckwisch — but the Cougars trailed 49-31 by 3:17.

In the final 2:29 of the third quarter the Saints scored five without allowing a basket to go up by 23 points.

The Saints never faltered in the final eight minutes of play as they hung on for the win.

White led the Cougars with 12 points and Rowe hit three 3-pointers for nine.

Zach White scored 17 points and Perry added 14 to lead the Saints. Twelve different players scored for Indy Lutheran on the night.

On the boards, the Saints dominated the rebounding battle 40-21.

Trinity finished 1-2 in tourney action.

The two schools will meet again to start 2017, as Trinity Lutheran travels to Indianapolis on Jan. 6.

“We learned what we need to work on,” Stuckwisch said. “We played a really good game against South Decatur where we played the tempo we want to play at. We will work on some things in practice and see if we can come up with a better plan.”