University wins program’s first 2A title
By RICHIE HALL
LEBANON – “It feels good to make history.”
University’s Blake Gray scored 17 points to lead the Trailblazers’ scoring. (Julie Brown)
University junior Blake Gray said that minutes after the Trailblazers boys basketball team won an exciting Class 2A regional championship game last Saturday at Lebanon’s Rosenstihl Gymnasium. University held off Triton Central 44-43 to claim the team’s second regional title.
It was a history-making victory, as this was the Trailblazers’ first regional title in Class 2A. University won its first boys regional as a 1A team back in 2013. The win is also Justin Blanding’s first regional title as the ‘Blazers boys coach. Blanding coached the University girls to three regional championships in 2019, 2021 and 2022.
“Our system and how we do things is fit for everybody,” said Blanding. “They’ve really done a good job. Guys have bought into their roles and they’re ready to step up when they need to.”
The first quarter was tight and finished with the Tigers leading 9-8. Triton Central held a 9-6 lead before Gray got the last basket of the period on a steal and dunk. Those were Gray’s first two points of the game, but he was just getting started.
Junior Noah Cortez opened the second quarter with a 3-pointer to give University an 11-9 lead, and as it turned out, the ‘Blazers would not trail again. Gray then scored off another steal, then made a floater. Just like that, University had scored nine straight points for a 15-9 advantage.
The Tigers came back and tied the game at 18-18 by halftime. The Trailblazers controlled the third quarter, outscoring Triton Central 15-7. Gray opened the half with a 3, then senior Max McComb scored on a layin.
Junior Faisal Mohamud drained a 3-pointer, then Gray scored off a steal for the third time. Gray later hit a triple to put University up 31-22 for its largest lead of the game.
“I step up whenever I need to because that’s what I do,” said Gray. “I’m a team player. I’ll put others first.”
Blanding had praise for Gray, saying “he likes these moments.”
“We got four or five guys that could really score the ball,” said Blanding. “So we knew somebody was going to do it. We knew they were going to key in on Max, but Blake stepped up.”
University led 33-25 going into the fourth quarter. Josh Henderson made a floater to finish University’s third-quarter scoring, which was a sign of things to come.
Triton Central came blasting back in the fourth quarter, thanks to its star Eli Sego. The junior already had 14 points, but he dominated the fourth, nailing three triples during the first few minutes to get the Tigers within 37-34. A basket from senior Silas Gray put TC within one point.
“He’s that good of a player,” Blanding said of Sego. “We knew we weren’t going to stop him. “We just knew if we got an opportunity to get a couple stops when we needed to, we’d be all right.”
Josh Henderson made crucial baskets in the fourth quarter to keep University in front. (Julie Brown)
Never fear, Henderson was there. The 6-6 sophomore made a layin to push University’s lead back up to 39-36, then he laid in an easy basket seconds later. The ‘Blazers now lead 41-36 with under a minute to go.
“(Blanding) told me, ‘Always be aggressive, always be ready to impact the game,” said Henderson.
“He can handle the ball, he can shoot the ball,” said Blanding. “And we really need him on the defensive side of the ball, rebounding. He did that. We got some offensive rebounds in there and you saw what happened. He’s going to be a heck of a player for us in the future.”
Sego scored seven points in the final minute, including a last-second 3-pointer to give him a game-high 30 points. But University held on with free throw shooting; two from Mohamud and one more from Gray sealed the game.
Gray finished with 17 points and four steals. Henderson scored eight points, while Mohamud added seven. McComb’s five points were followed by four from junior Cooper Cammack and Cortez’s 3-pointer. McComb and Cammack both dished out three assists.
University improved to 18-9 and will play in the 2A south semi-state this coming Saturday. The Trailblazers’ opponent and semi-state site will be announced this afternoon.
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