Troop stuns Trojan five
Troop stuns Trojan five
By STU MERRY
Cinderella is alive and well and living in Garrison.
For the second time in as many nights, the Garrison Troopers have played the roll of giant slayers.
At the Region 5 Tournament in Bismarck Monday, the Troopers, No. 3 seed from District 10, needed overtime to outlast District 9’s No. 2 seed, New Salem, 61-59.
The win gave the team a renewed confidence in itself. Tuesday, that new-found confidence carried over to an even bigger level. The Troopers tackled District 10 perennial powerhouse, Turtle Lake-Mercer-McClusky, a team that was the district’s No. 1 seed and sporting an impressive 20-2 record.
That made no difference. Garrison played like a team possessed, coming away with a 56-46 victory, earning a spot in Friday’s Region 5 championship game. The Troopers will battle District 9’s No. 3 seed, Shiloh Christian.
The Troopers led 16-12 after the first quarter against TL-M-M, but the Trojans finished strong, going up by five, 29-24, at intermission.
Mykle Rud had 10 points and six rebounds in the first half. Luke Gehring added 8. Having the cloud of being in foul trouble over him in the third quarter, Coach Jason Mattheis let Mykle rest on the bench. That’s when his teammates stepped up to take control of the game. At the 3:18 mark the Troopers had overcome the deficit to lead by five, 40-35. They never looked back.
With Mykle on the bench, the Trojans had numerous opportunities but failed to capitalize.
