Deary Mustangs buck Troy Trojans in basketball doubleheader

Jan. 5—TROY — Having just witnessed the Deary girls straightforwardly dismantle the host Trojans 50-28, the schools' respective boys basketball teams initially seemed on course to play the same roles in the nightcap of a nonleague rivalry doubleheader Thursday.

From a deep double-figure deficit, Troy found a long-awaited spark in the second half of play that seriously threatened the visitors' bid for a sweep. Nevertheless, the Mustangs ultimately clinched a 58-55 decision and denied the home fans their satisfaction.

Mustangs quick out of the gates

Wyatt Vincent of Deary (6-4) hit a 3-point goal on the opening possession of the boys game, and teammate Tucker Ashmead proceeded to log the next nine points, leaving Troy (3-4) in a 12-0 hole before Eli Stoner finally broke the hosts' drought around five minutes into play. The Trojans would have brief spurts of success, but continued to lag well behind the Mustangs for the rest of the opening half, heading into intermission down 40-21.

"First half, we shot really well," Deary coach Jalen Kirk said. "Also, defensive intensity at the start was really good. Second half, they kind of switched up defenses on us, put on a little more pressure, started trapping it hard, and we kind of panicked and turned it over."

Troy finally came alive in a real way within the first 90 seconds out of intermission as a Joseph Bendel free throw followed rapidly by a Dominic Holden 3-pointer and a layup from Stoner cut things to 40-29, generating palpable excitement from the Trojan stands. The 6-foot-3 Stoner would draw deafening cheers a minute of play later as he made a steal and fast-break slam dunk to cut the deficit to 10 at 43-33, then connected inside again for 43-35.

It was not long before Troy was knocking right on the door, pulling within a possession at 51-49 with a little over four minutes remaining in regulation.

Sharpshooting prevails

Seeing their male counterparts embattled, the Deary girls players stood and led chants from the front of the visitors' section of the stands. Though they appeared flustered for much of the second half dealing with the home team's pressure, the Mustangs ultimately came in clutch, with Troy never quite managing to tie or take the lead.

Deary's 3-point shooting was the biggest difference between the two teams. The Mustangs totaled 10 conversions from beyond the arc, compared with only one for Troy. Four of Deary's 3s came from Laithan Proctor, who was repeatedly set up for open attempts at critical junctures of the game to reestablish scoreboard separation and keep the Trojans at bay.

"Our guys finished," Kirk said. "That's kind of the big thing with these guys as they've grown — the finishing aspect is the big thing. A few years ago these guys wouldn't have finished this game, and they found a way to grit it out and learn from some of their mistakes."

For the Trojans, it was a second consecutive single-possession loss, and third from four total this season. Stoner was the game's top scorer with 23 points, but was the only Troy player to reach double figures, with Holden scoring nine.

Ashmead topped Deary's charts with 19 points and seven rebounds. Proctor added 16 points, Blaine Clark notched eight points, seven assists and seven steals, and Lakye Taylor had seven boards to go with his two points.

"This is the biggest win of the season so far for these guys," Kirk concluded. "Troy's a solid squad, so for our guys to come out to their home court and play with guys who are just as good or maybe even at a higher level than us and be able to control it and come out with the win is a big, big thing for our team."

Deary girls turn the tables

The girls game's result snapped a three-game losing streak for the Mustangs (6-5) and represented a dramatic reversal relative to a 46-38 defeat they had suffered against Troy last month.

"We squeezed them pretty good with our pressearly on," Deary coach Kendra Keen said. "That's just who we are. We haven't been doing that as much, and I feel like we kind of got back in our stride with that."

Deary's Kenadie Kirk (younger sister of Jalen) led all scorers with 18 points, while Araya Wood added another 14.

The Trojans (7-4), who were playing their first game since that previous meeting with Deary, struggled to maintain possession of the ball and never established offensive momentum. No Troy scorer reached double figures, with Bethany Phillis and Dericka Morgan (playing with a bandaged hand due to a thumb injury) registering seven points apiece.

"We felt like we were forcing stuff the last couple games," Keen said. "We felt we were a little more poised this game, had a little more composure — making sure we had vision of the floor instead of just throwing it."

GIRLS

DEARY (6-5)

Madalyn Proctor 1 0-0 2, Kaylee Wood 3 1-4 7, Kenadie Kirk 7 1-2 18, Araya Wood 6 1-2 14, Karmen Griffin 3 0-0 6, Allie Vincent 1 1-2 3. Totals 21 4-10 50.

TROY (7-4)

Clara Chamberlin 1 0-0 2, Olivia Tyler 1 1-2 3, Katelynn Moore 1 0-0 2, Alaura Hawley 1 3-6 5, Bethany Phillis 3 0-0 7, Tessa Stoner 1 0-0 2, Dericka Morgan 3 0-0 7. Totals 11 4-8 28.

Deary 11 13 14 12—50

Troy 2 8 9 9—28

3-point goals — Kirk 3, A. Wood, Phillis, Morgan. — BOYS

DEARY (6-4)

Laithan Proctor 6 0-0 16, Nolan Hubbard 1 0-0 3, Wyatt Vincent 3 0-0 7, Blaine Clark 3 0-0 8, Tony Beyer 0 0-0 0, Tucker Ashmead 8 1-2 19, Lakye Taylor 1 0-0 2. Totals 22 1-2 58.

TROY (3-4)

Alex Kirkham 4 0-0 8, Eli Stoner 11 1-2 23, Aiden Heath 2 0-0 4, Dominic Holden 2 4-6 9, Makhi Durrett 2 0-0 4, Rowan Tyler 0 1-2 1, Joseph Bendel 2 2-5 6. Totals 23 8-15 55.

Deary 16 24 8 10—58

Troy 6 15 22 12—55

3-point goals — Proctor 4, Clark 2, Ashmead 2, Hubbard, Vincent, Holden.