By STEVE KEENAN
for the Daily Telegraph
HICO — The number 13 had both a negative and positive connotation for Midland Trail Wednesday night. The positive won out.
Entering their Class A Region 3 co-final against Iaeger, the host Patriots were in a 13-year state tournament drought, having last advanced to Charleston at the end of the 1996-97 campaign.
Utilizing its “13-up” half-court trap defense, Trail took control after leading just 6-4 more than halfway through the first period, outscoring the Cubs 12-3 to finish the quarter up 18-7 and set the stage for a 72-34 romp and a return trip to Charleston next week.
“We jumped into our 1-3 and that started us off,” said senior Joey Fox, who tossed in 15 points for Trail (14-5) on the evening. “I guess it got their confidence down and we got in rhythm.
“We came out here and did it (defensively), and we knocked down some shots. I’m excited because this is my last year, and it’s a good way to end.”
“Tonight we knew if we came out and played hard defense, we’d be OK,” added fellow senior Caleb Carte, who led the Patriots in scoring with a 16-point effort. “We wanted to get up on them early.
“It (a state tourney berth) is just what we’ve worked for all year. It’s like a dream; it’s crazy.”
Carte’s deuce off an offensive cut in the lane put the Patriots up 8-4, then they came out of a timeout and proceeded to score seven points off Iaeger turnovers as the quarter wound down. Iaeger was whistled for 10 miscues in the first, while Trail played error-free.
The decisive spurt included a Kelly Minter inbound goal off a Carte feed, a Carte drive that resulted in a free throw, a Casey Deskins stickback, a Minter freebie, a Jordan Burdette putback and a Fox deuce.
“(Their defense) caused a slow start, and combine that with the fact that we didn’t shoot well all game long (13-for-36), and that was the difference,” Iaeger coach Don Smith said. “And we got ragged and didn’t defend well.
“We knew coming in Midland Trail was physical, and we let them be physical.”
“I thought that first quarter was big,” said Greg Crist, Trail’s fifth-year coach. “They didn’t handle the ball well, and we went into that trap and I felt like that was the turning point. We haven’t done a whole lot of that (the trapping defense) this year.
“I told my assistant (Curtis Miller) at the end of the quarter that was exactly what we needed.”
The Patriot lead had ballooned to 35-14 at intermission and grew to 48-22 midway through the third stanza before a 7-0 Iaeger surge left the deficit at 19, 48-29, with eight minutes left.
With 12 points, Landon Hurley was the Cubs’ lone double-digit scorer.
Minter supported Carte and Fox with 11 points and Burdette supplied nine markers off the bench.
“I thought we shot the ball better tonight than we normally do,” Crist said. Trail was 25-of-59 from the field.
The Patriots will play next Thursday in the state event, with the foe and time to be announced today.
“It’s been a long time coming,” said Crist, who will guide his first team in the state tourney as a head coach.
With consolidation looming, Iaeger ended its final basketball campaign with a 10-13 record.
“I talked to the juniors about what they needed to do to get better, and I told the seniors each individually how proud of them I am,” Smith said.
— E-mail: skeenan@
register-herald.com
IAEGER (10-13)
Cody Jackson 2 3-4 7, Lawrence Morgan 2 0-2 4, Trevor Kennedy 1 1-2 4, Jeffery Johnson 2 0-0 5, Landon Hurley 5 1-4 12, Tyler Walker 0 0-1 0, Charlie Stacy 0 0-1 0, Ryan Garrett 1 0-0 2. Totals: 13 5-14 34.
MIDLAND TRAIL (14-5)
Caleb Carte 4 8-12 16, Joey Fox 6 3-3 15, Casey Deskins 1 0-0 2, Kelly Minter
5 1-2 11, Noah Sparks 1 3-4 5, Mark Nickell 1 0-0 2, Jordan Burdette 4 1-5 9, Casey Kessler 0 3-4 3, Sidney Crist 2 0-0 6, Ryan Whitlock 0 0-0 0, Jared George 1 1-2 3, Jake Howell 0 0-0 0. Totals: 25 20-32 72.
Iaeger............................................7 7 15 5 — 34
Midland Trail...............................18 17 13 24 — 72
Three-point goals: I: 3 (Hurley, Kennedy, Johnson); MT: 2 (Crist 2); Fouled out: None.
