Noxon notches wins over Troy
A nail-chewer and a blow-out win were on the menu this past Tuesday as the Noxon Red Devils and Lady Devils wrapped up their regular season with victories against non-conference foe Troy.
The Lady Devils, who enter this weekend’s District 14C tournament in Polson as the No. 3 seed, thrashed the winless Lady Trojans 53-7. Meanwhile, the Noxon boys pulled out a thrilling, late fourth-quarter comeback win over the Troy boys, 59-56.
The Red Devils finished the year as the 14C fifth seed and will open the District tournament against fourth-seeded Superior this Thursday at 9 a.m. at Polson High School. The Lady Devils play Two Eagle River’s girls Thursday at 5:30 pm.
Noxon senior Emily Brown was instrumental in helping the Lady Devils take a big early lead in their lopsided victory of the visiting Lady Trojans.
Noxon used a swarming defense that befuddled Troy from the outset and allowed the Lady Devils to finish the first quarter of play with a 17-0 lead. Things did not get much better for Troy in the second quarter, as they could muster only two points while Noxon scored another 17 to go into the half time break with a seemingly insurmountable 34-2 advantage.
Any hopes of Troy beginning a comeback were quashed in the third period when the Lady Devils defense once again held the Lady Trojans scoreless on their way to a 46-2 lead entering the final quarter. At that point the Montana basketball Mercy rule was in effect, creating a non-stop game clock that added to the visitor’s woes.
Brown topped all scorers with 22 points, many of them off defensive steals that resulted in lay-ups. Teammate Callie Cano also scored in double figures for the Lady Devils, adding 13 to the Noxon cause.
The win bumped the Lady Devils to 9-8 overall this season. They enter District play with a 6-5 record. Troy fell to 0-12 on the year with the loss.
Noxon’s boys had a much more difficult time with the Troy boys, but still managed to squeak out the three-point win in the final minutes of what had been a close, back-and-forth second half contest that saw Noxon rally from a 17-point hafltime deficit.
Troy controlled the game in the first half, building a 16-12 lead at the end of the first quarter. The Trojans then outscored Noxon 20-7 in the second quarter to build a 36-19 halftime lead.
Noxon began chipping away at that lead in the third quarter as they outscored the visitors 15-11 to make it 47-34 with one quarter to play.
Then the rug was pulled from under the Trojans in the final quarter as Noxon sophomores Ricky Williams and Shane Murray took control of the backboards and outscored Troy 25-9 over the final eight minutes of play.
Noxon trimmed the Troy lead to 54-52 with just under two minutes left in regulation. A Troy turnover on their next trip down the floor resulted in a two-pointer on the Noxon end of the court by Murray, knotting the game at 54-54.
The Red Devils then rebounded a missed Troy shot and moved the ball quickly down court where Williams took a pass under the basket and put it in for a 56-54 Noxon lead. Troy tied the game at 56 on their next trip down court.
Noxon freshman Justice Kayser was fouled on the other end and made one of two free throws to make it 57-56 in favor of the Red Devils.
With 10 seconds remaining, the Trojans committed a turnover and then fouled Kayser with just under nine seconds left in regulation. Kayser sank both ends of a one-and-one free throw situation to seal the Red Devils’ win.
The win was the fourth of the year for the young Noxon boys, who had no seniors on this year’s squad. The Red Devils’ roster lists six sophomores and four freshmen on the varsity squad.