TROTWOOD — It was a long and tough night for Sidney on Friday at Trotwood-Madison in a Greater Western Ohio Conference crossover game. The Rams pulled away early in an 87-53 win, with improved their record to 12-3.
Trotwood got off to a good start by building a 23-15 lead over the Jackets after the first quarter.
Then the roof fell in on Sidney. The Yellow Jackets committed turnover after turnover in the second quarter, which Trotwood took advantage of. Sidney failed to score a point until the 2:34 mark in the quarter, before which Trotwood had racked up 23-straight points. Trotwood finished with a 28-6 advantage in the second.
The Rams pressed full court man-to-man and double-teamed Sidney guard Andre Gordon on virtually every possession. When Gordon did have time to pass off, he could not get the ball back and finished the first half shooting just 1-of-3 from the field.
“That was our plan to take him out of the game, and we did,” Trotwood-Madison coach Rocky Rockhold said of containing Gordon, who averages over 25 points per game. “Our team defensive quickness is incredible and we got many turnovers to spark our offense. Andre is very talented and we did a great job on him. Turnovers were the key.”
Sidney coach John Willoughby was disappointed with the team’s ball handling.
“There were too many turnovers and it just multiplied,” Willoughby said. “We needed for someone else to step up and help Andre but it never happened. We missed some easy shots and Trotwood took advantage. We knew coming into this game what it could be like. At half I told the kids to just keep playing hard and they did.”
The Rams led 48-21 at halftime.
Sidney was more competitive in the second half, but Trotwood still outscored the Yellow Jackets 22-17 in the third and 17-15 in the fourth.
Sophomore post player Justin Stephens was a force for the Rams, scoring all 12 points inside.
“He loves a physical challenge and got it tonight playing against a big guy in Devan Rogers,” Rockhold said. “He likes contact and wants to get physical. Plays very hard and we need him on defense. He gives a dimension that we don’t have.”
The Rams took off in the third quarter with Amari Davis and Myles Belyeu scoring 20 of Trotwood’s 22 points. Davis finished with 30 points and nine rebounds, while Belyeu scored 23 with 10 rebounds.
“They are our Gordon type-players,” Rockhold said. “They get turnovers and can slash it to the hoop or hit the 3-pointer. They compliment each other. We are working on our depth to make us better. And it will be useful. All of our kids play very hard.”
Darren Taborn led Sidney with 12 points, while Keith Lee and Gordon added 11. Ratez Roberts had eight points and seven rebounds, while Josiah Hudgins came up with five points and five rebounds.
The loss broke a three-game winning streak for the Yellow Jackets (10-6, 7-2 GWOC American North). Sidney will host Tippecanoe on Tuesday in its first GWOC North game since Dec. 22.
