Horsemen, Trotters trounce Eagles

The Plains Trotters and Horsemen hosted their first home game against the Two Eagle River Eagles with both teams taking the win last Friday. The boys won 57-47, while the girls dominated the court taking the win 61-12.

PLAINS 57, TWO EAGLE RIVER 47

The Horsemen took to the court first against the Eagles and it would be over three minutes before Two Eagle was able to break past the Plains defense to put points on the board. Several steals later the Eagles held a five-point lead over the Horsemen at the end of the first quarter.

The Horsemen gained points in the second and took the lead with a three-pointer from senior Darren Standeford. The Eagles would tie the game at 25 apiece at halftime.

"At halftime I reminded the team to focus on the small things, how important rebounding is and making good passes," said head coach Tyrel Allen.

The Horsemen came out with new intensity in the third quarter, and were quickly able to break down Two Eagle's defense. They were able to put up 21 points in the third and Cooper Meredith helped the Horsemen put more points between the teams with a buzzer shot.

"We had some big shots in the third quarter to propel us ahead," Allen stated. "Last year we would not be as intense in the second half, so I was very pleased that the boys kept the intensity the whole game."

Darren Standeford led with 17 points, Zayden Allen came behind with 11, and Wyatt Butcher rounded it out for the Horsemen with 10 points. Cooper Meredith proved to be a beast under the basket pulling down eight rebounds, while Standeford had seven.

PLAINS 61, TWO EAGLE RIVER 12

The Trotters also got a home win against Two Eagle River. Putting full court pressure on the Eagles, the Trotters established their lead early. The crowd saw the Trotters execute fierce defense, trapping the Eagles the moment they stepped over half court, getting several steals.

"Everyone on the team got playing time, and everyone scored in this game so that's really exciting for the girls," said head coach Brooks Sanford.

The team continued to put extreme pressure on the Eagles in the second half. The Trotter defense kept Two Eagle scoreless in tthe third. The fourth quarter was much the same.

Mila Rivinius led for the Trotters with 11 points, Ava Lawyer came behind with 10, and Aubree Butcher had nine for Plains. The Trotters were able to gain 35 rebounds, 21 on offense and 14 from defense.

PLAINS 52, TROY 36

The Trotters then hit the road taking on the Troy Lady Trojans Saturday, taking the win 52-36.

With full court pressure, the Trotters kept Troy to minimal scoring in the first half.

"This game was a really physical game, but another game that everyone had playing experience. I think the girls had really good ball movement." Sanford stated.

Plains kept their fire the third was thier biggest quarter, putting up 18 points while keeping Troy to just eight.

TROY 49, PLAINS 33

Then it was the Horsemen's time to take on the Trojans falling 49-33.

"It seemed like we couldn't find the basket during this game," said head coach Tyrel Allen.

Troy would come out and quickly take an eight-point lead over Plains, who were able to gain the lead before halftime.

"We had a hard time getting rebounds due to lack of height. Troy has a few good players that stay aggressive in the paint," Allen stated. "Our offense got better in the second half, but we still were having a hard time finding the basket."

Three-pointers helped propel the Trojans in the third. The Horsmen would do their best to keep the points within close range and would go into the fourth just down by five points. Troy would keep Plains scoreless for much of the final quarter, until with less than a minute left the Hosemen were able to sink a three pointer.

"We are just going to work on bringing the intensity to our defense, and look forward to taking on Hot Springs again this week," said Allen

Plains was on the road in Hot Springs on Tuesday before welcoming Alberton on Thursday. Results will be in next week's Ledger.