NEW PARIS — National Trail’s boys’ basketball team continues to roll, picking up two more wins this past weekend. The Blazers are now 15-2 overall, 7-2 in the Cross County Conference.
NT opened the weekend with a win over Tri-Village, 58-38, on Friday, Feb. 1.
The Blazers built an early led on the Patriots, taking a 17-11 advantage into the second quarter and a 10-point lead at halftime. NT opened the second half with a 15-4 run to take full control of the game.
National Trail secured the win despite not shooting particularly well, according to coach Mike Harrison.
“Because of our offensive rebounding advantage (12-5) and our ability to take care of the ball (8 turnovers to Tri-Village’s 21), we were able to get 17 more shot attempts from the floor and 14 more free throw attempts … which gave us a big advantage on another night where we seemed a bit out of sorts shooting the ball.”
Travis Hunt and Cameron Harrison each had 12 points and five assists and Zach Woodall had 12 points and seven rebounds.
On Saturday, the Blazers defeated host Eaton, 67-58, in a non-CCC match up. While NT led most of the game, they were not able to extend their advantage as Eaton kept the game within reach. NT led by eight at halftime, and just four going into the fourth quarter.
“Give Eaton a lot of credit.” Harrison said. “They seemed to answer every time we made a run. It got real interesting late. Fortunately for us we were eventually able to make just enough free throws to hold them off.”
Harrison scored 25 points and had five assists. Hunter Michael added 14 points and pulled down eight rebounds. Travis Hunt added 12 points and Zach Woodall had 10 points and nine rebounds.
“I felt during the game we were taking some rushed shots and missing a lot of shots in close, but when looking back at the statistics it was actually one of our better offensive games recently. We took care of the ball, shot a decent percentage, and got to the offensive glass to get some extra opportunities.”
The Blazers, winners of 10 straight, were scheduled to play at Newton on Tuesday, Feb. 5 and will host Mississinawa Valley on Friday.
