Union County Head Coach Jesse Moses talks to his team during a timeout as the Patriots defeated Tri High 58-39 on Friday, Jan. 19.
LIBERTY, Ind. – The Union County boys basketball team remained undefeated in Tri-Eastern Conference play on Friday as the Patriots were able to post a 58-39 win over Tri High.
The Patriots were able to break open a tight contest in the final period.
“They flat-out outplayed us in the third quarter,” Union County Head Coach Jesse Moses said. “We knew we were going to have a battle. Every game they get better.”
After the first quarter, Union County led 15-9 before the Patriots were able to build a 32-19 advantage by halftime.
The Titans were able to close the gap to 39-32 by the end of the third.
“I was really proud of the way our guys played,” Tri High Head Coach Matt Lacy said. “We had a lot of practices between games and had to do a gut check after the Shenandoah game about who we were and how we wanted to play.”
Tri High had a chance to get closer early in the last quarter..
“They fought,” Lacy said. “That was the most important thing. We didn’t hit shots.”
However, the Patiots did hit some shots as they went on a 12-2 run to take a 51-34 lead with 5:33 left after Preston Scott drilled his second 3-pointer of the fourth frame.
“We started to get back into it,” Moses said. “We met their effort.”
“We have 13 guys who can do something,” Moses said. “Tonight, it was Ryan Hensley with his energy, diving on the floor for loose balls and getting deflections.”
Mook Shepler led the Patriots with 18 points, while Mason Miller added 13 as he grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds.
Scott finished with 11 points. Cameron Sanford and Cameron Donovan each had five points. Hensley, Shepler and Donovan each had six rebounds.
For the Titans, Alex Melton led the way with 16 points and eight rebounds. He scored all 10 of his team’s points in the second quarter.
Nick Wilson tossed in 13 points and Masen Phelps contributed five. Phelps and Kyler Burchett both had four rebounds.
The Patriots won the JV affair 39-24 as Nate Webb scored 16 points.
Tate Swafford added seven points. Alex VanWinkle and Mason Hornung both had six points.
Logan Stephens led the Titans with six points.
Jimmy Jeffries and Dillon Stevens had five points apiece.
Union County (10-3, 4-0) is at North Decatur (6-8) on Saturday.
The Titans (5-6, 1-2) visit Winchester (3-8, 1-2) next Friday.