Bluegrassrivals

Trinity was without 2 Starters, James Quick and Darryl Hicks

Wow!! I think Trinity is going to have to have a really down game if anyone is even going to have a chance of beating them!

Clark County vs. Trinity

No. 1 Trinity, despite missing two starters, rolled by Clark County 62-39 Friday afternoon in Rupp Arena and earned a spot in Saturday morning’s semifinals.

Junior standouts James Quick and Darryl Hicks did not play because of disciplinary reasons.

The Rocks did just fine without them.

Trinity senior Nathan Dieudonne, who was named a Mr. Basketball finalist earlier in the day, played like a star. He had 25 points, including 4-for-5 on three-pointers, and 8 rebounds.

Senior point guard Charles Foster 14 points and 4 rebounds, and senior guard Troy Saxton added 12points as the Rocks won their 16th game in a row.

They will play Southwestern in Saturday’s semifinals.

Trinity shot 52% (22-for-42), including 10-for-15 on threes.

Clark County was led by 6-6 senior Adam Fatkin’s 15 points and 5 rebounds. Senior guard Bopper Stenzel had 11 points and 3 assists.

Congrats Trinity.

Strikeout King Wrote:Trinity was without 2 Starters, James Quick and Darryl Hicks

Why didn't they play?

They were suspended for violating team rules

The Big Green Machine, aka No. 1 Trinity, was missing a couple of key cogs, but it didn't matter as it continued to steamroll through the Sweet Sixteen.

Playing without two starters, Trinity still flattened Clark County 62-39 in the quarterfinals of the 95th PNC/KHSAA State Basketball Tournament in front of 14,181 fans in Rupp Arena on Friday afternoon.

It was the Shamrocks' 16th victory in a row and earned them a spot in Saturday morning's St. Patrick's Day semifinals against Southwestern.

Trinity was without junior standouts Darryl Hicks and James Quick, who sat out one game for disciplinary reasons.

Clark County Coach Scott Humphrey heard about the suspensions just before pre-game warm-ups, but he quickly realized it probably didn't make much difference.

"You look at that roster, and those are two great players they're missing," he said. "But now they just have 13 instead of 15."

Trinity got a superstar performance from 6-foot-7 Nathan Dieudonne, who a few hours earlier was named a finalist for Mr. Basketball.

"The last thing on my mind was Mr. Basketball," he said. "I was just focused all day, knowing we were missing two starters. Me and Troy (Saxton) got together and talked about how we had to step up."

Dieudonne, who has signed with Boston University, had 25 points, including a career-high four three-pointers, and eight rebounds.

The Rocks also got solid play from senior guards Charles Foster (14 points) and Saxton (12 points).

"They stepped up when we needed them the most," Coach Mike Szabo said. "That's what senior leaders are expected to do and they did that."

Trinity's defense was, as usual, suffocating. Clark County struggled to score. Adam Fatkin, a 6-6 senior center, and Bopper Stenzel, a 6-1 senior guard, were 10-for-22 from the field and combined for 26 points. The rest of the Cards had just two field goals among them, although Charlie Rogers made seven of eight free throws.

"Defensively, I thought we did a great job really locking them down in the half court, contesting shots and rebounding the ball," Szabo said.

Trinity was also terrific offensively, patiently looking for the open man and then firing in 10 of 15 three-pointers.

"Wow," Szabo said, unaware of the accuracy. "That is outstanding."

Humphrey said the Rocks' long-range gunning, especially by Dieudonne, was the difference.

"The threes, especially from Nate, were daggers. We wanted to make them a jump-shot shooting team. We felt like we could live with that.

"For them to shoot 66 percent on threes, that's very tough to overcome. That took the wind out of our sails. Whenever we made a run, he stepped up and knocked one down.

"A special player had a special game."

Szabo wasn't surprised that his team adjusted to playing without Quick and Hicks, who are especially valuable on defense. "We have 14 guys that practice, and we expect the same from No. 14 as No. 1," he said.

For Clark County, the lopsided loss didn't spoil its unexpected success this season. After graduating its top six players off last year's Sweet Sixteen team, the Cards had five new senior starters lead them to 30 wins and another region title.

"It's been fun," Stenzel said. "I'm glad that when we lost, it was in Rupp."

Read more here: http://www.kentucky.com/2012/03/16/21136...rylink=cpy

LEXINGTON, KY. — His team missing two starters because of a violation of team rules, Nathan Dieudonne delivered a performance that may have moved him to the top of the list of Mr. Basketball candidates.

The 6-foot-7 senior nailed four 3-pointers and finished with 25 points and eight rebounds as the Trinity High School basketball team whipped Clark County 62-39 in Friday’s quarterfinals of the PNC/KHSAA Sweet 16.

A crowd of 14,181 at Rupp Arena saw Dieudonne hit 8 of 11 shots, including 4 of 5 from 3-point range. Earlier in the day Dieudonne was named one of five finalists for Kentucky’s Mr. Basketball honor.

“That’s the last thing on my mind is being Mr. Basketball,” said Dieudonne, who has signed with Boston University. “I was just really focused all day because missing two starters is hard on a team. Me and Charles (Foster) and Troy (Saxton) got together and stepped it up.”

Foster (14 points) and Saxton (12 points) joined Dieudonne in double figures and helped the Shamrocks (33-3) —No. 1 in The Courier-Journal’s Litkenhous Ratings — advance to the state semifinals for the first time in school history.

Trinity will face No. 14 Pulaski Southwestern (29-8) at 10 a.m. Saturday. A victory would send the Shamrocks to Saturday’s 8 p.m. championship game.

Shamrocks coach Mike Szabo said juniors Darryl Hicks and James Quick will be available to play Saturday after serving one-game suspensions Friday. The two did not dress for the game after violating team rules, Szabo said.

“All these guys have to live up to expectations,” Szabo said. “Every family has rules, and sometimes there are hard lessons to be learned. That’s the job of the adults to try to help these guys grow and mature and learn.”

The Shamrocks hardly missed the two, shooting 52.4 percent (22 of 42) overall and nailing 10 of 15 3-point attempts. Foster was 3 of 4 from 3-point range, and Saxton was 2 of 4 from behind the arc.

Trinity also won the rebounding battle 31-18.

Clark County coach Scott Humphrey credited Trinity’s depth.

http://saxo.highschoolsports.net/article...39?Avis=B2

Trinity is scary good!

^ Down 2 starters and they destroy a very good team!