Trailblazers split pair of games at Lebanon tourney

The REPORTER

University’s boys split a pair of games in the consolation bracket of the Lebanon Holiday Tournament on Saturday to bring home a sixth-place finish.

The Trailblazers rolled over Faith Christian 70-40 in their first contest of the game before dropping a 60-48 decision to Indianapolis Metropolitan.

University never trailed against Faith Christian with Peter Morales hitting two early three pointers to put the Blazers up 6-2. Morales added another three for nine points in the opening period and Cooper Cammack had two baskets in a 20 second span as University led 19-6 after one.

The Trailblazers opened the second quarter on a 9-2 spurt behind five points from Blake Gray and four from Max McComb. McComb would go on to score 11 points in the second as University opened up a 39-15 halftime advantage. Ten Trailblazers saw first-half action.

The third quarter was more of the same. Morales had a triple and Gray had two steals and layups for seven University points in the first 70 seconds. University kept pouring it on in the third quarter reaching a 35-point lead at 58-23 with 1:36 on the clock and instituting a running clock for the rest of the game.

McComb had a team-high 17 points. Morales had a career-high 16 points in his first varsity start. Gray had 14 and Cammack 12.

University and Metropolitan battled on even terms in the first half of the fifth-place game with the teams knotted at 26 at halftime. Neither team held more than a four-point lead and there were nine lead changes. University held what turned out to be their last lead at 26-25 on a Cammack bucket.

The game turned in the first five minutes of the third quarter as the Pumas outscored the Blazers 15-3.  A Gray three pointer accounted for the only University points in that stretch. The Trailblazers battled for the rest of the game but were unable to get closer than seven the rest of the way.

Gray had 16 and Morales 11 to lead University. Morales earned a spot on the all-tournament team with 27 points in Saturday’s two games.

University coach Justin Blanding was upbeat after the games. “We are playing great basketball and playing well enough to win games. We just have to close them. Now we have guys injured and are banged up pretty bad. During this time we had some young guys step up which is encouraging. With all the adversity the ball is going to start to bounce our way. Our record does not tell the story. We are a pretty good ball club.”

University stands at 3-6 on the season. The Blazers are next in action Saturday when they travel to Bethesda Christian. Metropolitan, ranked 10th in Class 1A in the USA Today media poll, is 10-3.