Dragons Hit FTs, Beat Potosi
By ERIC X. VICCARO
EVICCARO@STEGENHERALD.COM
Ste. Genevieve High School head boys’ basketball coach Robert Coleman has a tradition of starting as many seniors as possible on “Senior Night.”
It serves as a reward for the players who have been with the program the longest; this year, Chaytin Lea, Landon Rose, Logan Trollinger and Anthony Nash.
The seniors, and the rest of the Dragons, rewarded the coach with a come-from-behind 65-60 victory over Potosi in a heated, pivotal Mineral Area Activities Association Large School Division contest.
“It was a great win for our seniors on Senior Night,” Coleman said. “Those guys played well.”
Each senior fills a different role on the team.
Coleman asks Rose to be a physical presence, including blocking out. Lea continues growing, and he’s become an adroit rebounder. Nash provides the Dragons with their motor, a selfless player who sets the tempo on offense. Trollinger is a four-year starter with a dynamic in-and-out game.
In the victory over Potosi, Lea filled the statistics sheet with two points, three offensive rebounds and three steals.
Rose added two points and a steal. Nash scored three points, grabbed four rebounds, distributed a game-high nine assists, had three steals and deflected two Potosi passes. Trollinger added seven points, three steals, three assists, four rebounds and a team-leading five pass deflections.
They all complimented Ricky Hunter, who dropped in 29 points to lead all scorers, including four 3-pointers and 3-of-5 from the free-throw line. Aiden Boyer paced all rebounders with 13 caroms, including three on the offensive glass.
Paraphrasing, Coleman said the Dragons played a lot more zone than normal against Potosi because the Trojans had a height advantage.
Eventually, the Ste. Genevieve solved Potosi — turning a 33-31 halftime deficit into a five-point win.
Malachi Peppers cut the Dragon lead to 60-58 with 0:42 remaining in the fourth quarter, but Nash and Hunter kept the Trojans at bay with successful free throws and a follow inside. Ste. Genevieve had 12 foul shots in the fourth quarter alone.
Ryker Walton and Peppers scored 47 of Potosi’s 60 points.
