GIRLS = Troy 30, Doniphan West 29

Playing for the second time in a week, this regular season matchup was much closer, although Troy never trailed after taking a 12-10 lead on a basket by Lexi Norris to end the first quarter.  Norris hit a trey to start the second frame and a 9-2 run put the Trojans ahead 21-12 at halftime. 

Yet, D-West battled back, holding Troy to a total of nine points in the second half, but neither team scored a point in the final 2:30 of the contest.  Troy got a trey from Makayla Ross in the fourth quarter for their only points of the frame and left the door open by missing a trio of one-and-one foul shots in the final minute. 

Madi Marriott scored 10 points as Troy held on for their third straight win, improving to 7-5 overall and 4-2 in the TVL.  Lexie Whetstine had a game high 12 for the Mustangs including three trifecta's and McKenzie Blevins returned to the court for the first time since an injury in the third game of the season.  Doniphan West girls have lost eight straight after starting the year 2-0 and had 16 turnovers on the night while making just 4 of 9 free throws themselves and several empty possessions in the final minutes that would have given them the lead. 

BOYS = Troy 72, Doniphan West 65

In their first meeting of the season, both state ranked Doniphan County teams shot the ball well and combined for 12 three-pointers.  Troy made four shots behind the arc in the first quarter to jump to a 22-15 advantage, before D-West answered in the second quarter and tied the game at 29 at intermission.  It was still tied at 44 entering the fourth quarter and the Mustangs led 53-50 with 5:50 remaining before Cuttar Huss hit a huge three followed by a pair of baskets inside from Wil Smith to cap a 9-0 run (59-53).  The Troy spurt was aided by D-West committing 7 of their 14 turnovers in that final quarter.  Troy made nine free throws in the final minutes to secure their seventh straight win and avoid a let down after capturing the TVL Tourney Title on Saturday night in Frankfort.

Six guys played the majority of the minutes with Wyatt Huss chipping in 7 points off the bench and all five starters scoring at least 11.  Wil Smith scored 8 of his 15 in the fourth quarter to earn "Player to Bank On" honors from the Citizens State Bank and Trust Company while Huss had 7 of his 15 in the final stanza as well.  Brody Winder added 13 while Reid Greaser and Luke Smith each posted 11 and combined to score 15 in the opening quarter when Troy set the tone.  The Trojans, now state ranked in Class 2A, improved to 12-1 on the season following their highest scoring output of the year.  

For Doniphan West, Austin Taylor scored 10 of his game high 19 in the fourth quarter and made 7 of 9 free throws while fellow senior, Cooper Leach added 13.  It was a pair of sophomores off the bench that continued to give the Mustangs a big offensive boost as Levi Watts poured in 17 and hit 5 triples and Devin Taylor added a trey and 7 points in the second quarter as D-West rallied to tie the score.  D-West is now 8-3 after a 7-0 start and stands even with Troy at 5-1 in the TVL.