Trinity splits pair of weekend games
Jan. 2—MINOT — The Trinity Titans finished off 2023 with a 55-35 win over Division A-Region 3 Rugby at the Minot Civic Auditorium on Dec. 30, a day after falling to Four Winds/Minnewaukan, 56-31, at the Minot State Dome during a New Year's weekend road-trip. THS now stands at 4-3 as they start off 2024, with a slew of games coming in the next couple of weeks.
Trinity topped Rugby in a Dec. 30 game that was tight throughout the first half, before pulling away with a dominant final 16 minutes on New Year's Eve-eve, as freshman sensation Emerson Simnioniuw led the team with 15 points and two other Titans paced the team in double-figures. Junior guard Nicklaus Sobolik drained 6 points in the first quarter for Trinity, while Simnioniw sank a 3-pointer and Landon Knote did likewise to give THS a narrow, 21-22 deficit through the first 16 minutes of play.
But after the halftime break, Dickinson Trinity busted loose for 23 points while holding the Panthers (2-3) to only 6 to pull away for a lead they would never relinquish. Simnioniw drilled another pair of shots from behind the arc and Sobolik added 6 more of his double-digit 12 in the third, while the defense allowed only 2 field goals during the frame.
THS held Rugby to single-digits in the final period as well, allowing only 7 while scoring 11 on the strength of a tre from senior guard Luke Shobe on his way to double-digits and 12 points.
The Titans fared slightly worse in the opener to the road trip at the Minot State Dome on Dec. 29, as the Division A-Region 2 Indians used a dominant opening half to create significant distance and improve to 4-2 on the season. The first half closed out at 24-16 as the Titans were held to single-digits in the first two quarters, with senior guard Jace Kovash leading the way with 4 of his 6 points on the afternoon. The visitors were held to only 5 points in the third, while the Indians poured in 17 and never looked back to take the win.
Simnioniw led all Titans players with 9, but THS was only 6-of-12 from the free-throw line in the game and no player ended up in double-figures.
Next-up for THS will be a trip to Shiloh Christian High School for a two-game set this weekend, with a contest versus Rapid City Christian on Jan. 5 and the next day against Oak Grove with games at 4 p.m. and 12:30 p.m., respectively.
For more information about prep basketball in North Dakota, please keep reading your Dickinson Press and/or visit the website at
https://ndhsaanow.com/teams/basketball-boys
.
