Trinity Lutheran’s boys basketball team opened the 2017-18 season with an impressive 95-75 win against South Decatur on Tuesday night at the Bollinger Athletic Complex.
The host Cougars used a hot offense to seal the win and had four players in double-digit point totals.
A.J. Goecker led the Cougars with 26, followed by Trent Shoemaker with 23, Tyler Goecker with 20 and Jacob Rowe with 19.
Coach Brian Stuckwisch said he was thrilled with the result and said it was unexpected.
“I thought it would be a lot closer and was looking for a close game,” he said. “Both teams are similar in athletic ability, players and experience, so I wasn’t expecting to win like this.”
Trinity jumped to a quick 5-0 lead to start the game with A.J. Goecker scoring a layup and a 3-pointer.
South Decatur answered right back with a 3 from Brandon Benge and a three-point play from Matt Cornett.
Trinity then built a 12-7 lead behind a 3-pointer from Shoemaker, an impressive three-point play where Shoemaker passed it to Goecker for a layup and free throw and then two more free throws from Goecker.
Both teams exchanged points, and the first quarter ended with Trinity ahead 24-21.
The second quarter began with Trinity earning two points from the free throw line from Shoemaker, but South Decatur took advantage of a quiet offense from the host team and found themselves up 34-31.
Trinity then began to answer back with multiple trips to the free throw line and a 3-pointer.
In the closing minutes of the half, Trinity went on a 7-2 run and found themselves with a 44-36 lead at the half.
The host Cougars unloaded in the second half, scoring 51 points.
Trinity outscored South Decatur 29-20 in the third quarter and created that margin with the 3-pointer. Shoemaker had three, Jacob Rowe had two and Josh Rowe had one.
With each one, the crowd got more energy, especially when one of Shoemaker’s went in as time in the quarter expired.
South Decatur could not keep Trinity’s hot offense at bay.
Trinity went up 73-56 heading into the final quarter.
The fourth quarter was much of the same, as South Decatur was too far down to muster up a comeback. Trinity outscored South Decatur 22-19 in the quarter to seal the win.
“This is a great way to start our season,” Stuckwisch said.