Troop begins New Year 2-2
Troop begins New Year 2-2
By STU MERRY
The Garrison boys’ basketball team is starting to make some noise.
The Troopers pulled off an exciting come from behind overtime win against Region 5 foe Flasher Dec. 22, 53-49. The win puts the Troopers at .500 – 2-2 – as the New Year begins.
“We are doing a lot of good things right now, but we need to limit our negative moments. I think we are heading in the right direction,” Coach Jason Mattheis observed.
Down by 10 late in the third quarter, the Troopers found a way to battle back, holding the Bulldogs to three points in the pivotal fourth frame. Andrew Haugen drained four points in the fourth quarter, and Ian MacDonald drained a three, plus was 4-4 from the line, to seal the deal for Garrison.
The Troopers almost pulled off another come from behind win the night before, Dec. 21, at Surrey. Unfortunately, the rally came up short and the Mustangs prevailed 61-58. Mattheis said what hurt was that the Troopers started the game sluggishly.
“Our defensive intensity was low and we didn’t do a very good job of protecting the basketball,” Mattheis said. “Our turnover number, especially in the first half, was too high. We had a lot of empty possessions. We were down by 20 at one point in the first half, but we did a nice job of trying to come back.”
