BOYS BASKETBALL: Cavalier falls to Trenton in opening round of B tournament

MINOT -- Trenton's big offense has been one of spurts. And the Tigers found a big spurt in timely fashion Thursday night.

Trenton, down by nine late in the third quarter, rallied to defeat Cavalier 54-52 in the quarterfinals of the North Dakota state Class B boys high school basketball tournament at the Minot State Dome.

The Tigers made 13 field goals in the first three quarters. In the final eight minutes, they were 9-for-11 from the floor, outscoring Cavalier 20-13 in that span.

"We're a team of spurts," Trenton coach Bob Turcotte said. "We were getting some good looks. The shots started to go in."

After scoring the final four points of the third quarter to pull within 39-34, Trenton started the fourth on an 8-3 run. Lane Huck had six of those points, tying the score at 42 when he hit a 15-footer from the wing with 5:04 left. "Lane got us going. He really attacked the basket," Turcotte said.

Cavalier went ahead on a Blaine Steiger trey. But Trenten Hove answered with a 3-pointer to start a 9-0 run that gave Trenton the lead for good.

"Give them a lot of credit," Cavalier coach Bryce Laxdal said. "They made shots; they made tough shots. We had hands in their shooters' faces, but they still knocked them down."

Cavalier, down 51-45 with 1:27 left, twice rallied to within one in the final minute, at 51-50 and 53-52 on two Brock Robbins baskets. But the Tornadoes could get no closer. Jarret Johnson's long-range 3-point attempt at the buzzer was off the mark.

Robbins finished with game highs of 24 points and 10 rebounds, and Ryan Chrest scored 14 as the two dominated Cavalier's offense. Robbins had five points in a first half-closing 6-0 run that gave Cavalier a 27-26 intermission lead. The sophomore then scored 10 of the Tornadoes' 12 third-quarter points.

"Ryan got us going," Laxdal said. "When (Trenton) started focusing on him, Brock got going. He had a great game. He carried us on offense."

But, in the fourth quarter, Laxdal said, "We fell in love with jump shots. We made a few from the outside and kept shooting them. We settled for jump shots instead of going to the rim. We got the lead (in the first three quarters) because we attacked."

Trenton brought a 71.7 scoring average into the game. The 54 points matched its season low. But, Turcotte said, the Tigers won with what they do best.

"Our team is about defense," Turcotte said. "The one advantage we had tonight was speed. I thought our quickness showed up at the end of the second half when we slowed them down."

Trenton had more balance in its offense. Huck and Hove each scored 16 to lead the Tigers, with the two combining for 13 of the Tigers' 20 fourth-quarter points. Michael Rademacher added 11 points and Jade Bentz 10.

1/2: Cavalier's Brock Robbins takes a shot over two Trenton defenders during a 54-52 loss. (Kevin Cederstrom)

2/2: Cavalier's Ryan Chrest looks to pass during the state quarterfinals. (Kevin Cederstrom)