SIDNEY — Both Sidney and Troy struggled at times to score in a Greater Western Ohio Conference game on Friday at the Trojan Activities Center. But the Yellow Jackets came alive on offense in enough spurts to beat Troy.
After scoring just seven points in the first quarter, Sidney took off and won 58-35 to improve to 12-6 overall and 8-3 in GWOC American North Division play.
Sidney led 7-3 at the end of the first quarter and outscored the Trojans 19-7 in the second. The Yellow Jackets got hot from the 3-point line in the second, as Andre Gordon nailed a long 3 and Keith Lee busted two 3-point shots after Jacob Martinez hit one for Troy.
Gordon hit another 3-pointer from about 30 foot out at the buzzer to give Sidney a halftime lead of 26-10.
The Trojans came out in third quarter and started hitting some shots. Junior wing Chris Demeo came through with a 3-pointer shot that forced Sidney coach John Willoughby to call a timeout to slow down Troy.
Troy cut Sidney’s lead to 37-27 at the end of the third, but Sidney got hot again in the fourth and quickly put the game away. Gordon made two quick buckets to get Sidney started and then made an old-fashioned 3-point play.
Sidney added another six points after Gordon’s baskets to cap off a 13-0 run and take a 50-27 lead.
Most of the missed shots in the game went to Sidney senior center Devan Rogers. Rogers (6-foot-2, 285-pounds) finished unofficially with 19 rebounds and 10 points.
Willoughby was pleased with the performance, especially since the Yellow Jackets are still without junior forward Ratez Roberts. Roberts injured his right ankle in the first quarter of Sidney’s game against Tippecanoe on Tuesday.
“Man, he was grabbing rebounds left and right,” Willoughby said. “We really needed that kind of game from him with Ratez out with an injury. We do not know how long (Roberts) is going to be out. I was hoping he (Rogers) could get 20 boards tonight.”
The game was the fourth matchup between the teams tho pitWilloughby against former Russia coach Paul Bremigan. Bremigan took over at Troy in 2015, and Willoughby, who coached at Houston for 30 years, took over at Sidney in 2016. Sidney has been victorious in each matchup.
Bremigan was disappointed with Troy’s showing, especially since the squad had won its previous three games.
“Its very disappointing to shoot the way we did tonight,” Bremigan said. “We struggled from the field and when we got foul shots we shot poorly from the charity stripe also. Most of our shots were good attempts. But the outcome was not there tonight. Our turnovers were okay tonight, but that was about it.”
Gordon led Sidney with 23 points scored and Lee finished with 11 points. Darren Taborn added eight points.
Troy (8-9, 6-6 GWOC North) was led by junior Jacob Martinez with 10 points. Troy senior inside player Zach Reichelderfer had an off night, scoring eight points with six rebounds. He came into the game averaging 17.5 points along with 10.5 rebounds per game.
Sidney returns home on Saturday to host St. Marys, while the Trojans will host Miamisburg.
