CAMPBELLSBURG — Crothersville outscored Trinity Lutheran 16-8 in the final period to come away with a 52-47 win Tuesday night in the opening round of the West Washington Sectional.
The Cougars led 26-18 at the half and 39-36 at the end of the third quarter before the Tigers made the comeback.
After Trinity’s AJ Goecker opened the game with a basket, Crothersville scored seven unanswered points behind three different scorers. Logan Brewer and Cable Spall added baskets before Trinity’s Jack Marksberry hit a 3-pointer to cut the Cougars’ deficit to 11-7 going into the second quarter.
The teams stayed within three points until back-to-back baskets by Brewer put the Tigers (14-10) up 18-13 with 3:36 left in the first half. In the final 3:05 of the half, Trinity (6-18) put together a 13-0 scoring spree. AJ Goecker had five points, and Tyler Goecker scored six in the span.
At the break, the Cougars led 26-18.
Trinity maintained the lead in the third quarter, but Crothersville answered almost every bucket. Josh Thomas hit a pair of 3s in the final 1:52 of the third to bring the Tigers within three going into the final period.
Crothersville started the fourth quarter strong, going on a 10-4 run through the first five minutes of the final period to lead 46-43 with 2:16 remaining. A jumper by Jack Marksberry pulled the Cougars within one with 44 seconds left, before Trinity had to foul the Tigers’ Lane Wienhorst.
Wienhorst hit both attempts and Crothersville got a stop on the Cougars’ next possession. Wienhorst pulled down the rebound on Trinity’s miss, was fouled, and hit both free throws to push the lead to 50-45 with 23 seconds left.
The Tigers were able to hang on from there to advance to Friday night’s 7:30 p.m. semifinal against Edinburgh. The Cougars had six turnovers in the fourth quarter.
Brewer led all scorers with 18 points, and Burton added 14 for Crothersville. A.J Goecker topped Trinity with 13 points, while Marksberry had 12 and Mitchell Hackman scored 10.
Edinburgh (10-12) received a first-round bye in the sectional. During the regular season, the Tigers beat the Lancers 40-38.
