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Comeback falls short for SHS boys’ hoops team

Bryce Evans
bevans@summitdaily.com
Summit Daily/Mark Fox
ALL |

FARMER’S KORNER – Sometimes, the difference between a win and a loss isn’t in your hands.

The Summit High boys’ basketball team, after falling behind 11-0 in the early minutes, battled all the way back Friday against Clear Creek – only to see the Golddiggers drain shot after shot after shot to pull away late.

“I don’t know what they’re shooting percentage was, but it was high,” SHS head coach Philip Tronsrue said.



On six straight possessions in the fourth quarter, Clear Creek players knocked down long jumpers, either from behind the arc or just in front of it.

The stretch helped the Golddiggers to a 57-47 win at the SHS gym.



“They made shots when they needed to,” Tronsrue said. “We’d cover up one or two of them, then they’d swing it or skip it and make the open shot. Some were threes, some were long twos. Whatever they were, they knocked them down.”

Summit, which opened its season with a win Wednesday night at Jefferson, made its fair share of shots as well. Only, the Tigers couldn’t keep up in closing time.

Sophomore Coy Coker, who led the Tiger attack from the point much of the night, finished with a team-high 13 points after hitting three 3-pointers. Senior center Keynan Roggasch chipped in 10 points despite being hindered by foul trouble all night.

“I thought we did a pretty good job. Obviously, we had some turnovers and we had some mistakes,” Tronsrue said. “But one of the things I really liked, we came out and were down 11 and we battled right back.”

The Tigers even took the lead as early as the second quarter. After a stretch of three 3-pointers on four possessions – two from Coker, the other from fellow sophomore Markeith McDonald – Summit went up 18-17 on two free throws from Nolan Rookey.

Summit went into halftime down just one, and the third quarter was back-and-forth between the two teams. In the end, only the final shooting spree by Clear Creek separated Summit from its second win to start the season.

Sophomore Connor Hebert scored six big points for Summit in the fourth quarter, and senior Michael Leopold held down the rebounding duties for most of the night, while chipping in eight points.

And even though his team couldn’t come all the way back, Tronsrue saw some positive signs for the Tigers.

“I was pleased by how well our guys played,” he said. ” … I think they’re more confident on the floor, the maturity is starting to get there on the floor, but, like I told them, it’s going to ebb and flow a little. We just have to level it out, and play at the same high level.”

The Tigers (1-1) are back on the court Tuesday when they host Eagle Valley at 7 p.m.


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