Heavy Lifting

TROY BOYS HOOPSTERS GET HEALTHY, FIND SALVATION ON A WING & A PRAYER

The Troy Colts were in a tailspin after a pair of listless efforts and embarrassing losses in their last two games heading into Friday night's contest with Birmingham Seaholm.

They were in desperate need of a lift or risk their season going out the window before the halfway point.

On Friday, they got it – in a colossal way.

Down three points in the final seconds, Troy's junior guard Joe Leonard drained a 3-pointer to tie the game and was fouled in the process, sending him to the line for a chance to win it.

With ice running through his veins, Leonard buried his attempt from the charity stripe giving the host Colts an improbable 57-56 victory over the upset-minded Maples, taking his squad off life support and providing hope for a new day.

Ranked as one of the top teams in the state to open the campaign, Troy, defending champions in the OAA White, has had troubling gelling on the court so far this year. Friday's win evens up the Colts record at 3-3 and will hopefully get things moving in the right direction for head coach Gary Fralick and his troops.

Junior swingman James Young, considered one of the best prepsters in the nation, led Troy in the scoring column with 13 points to go along with seven rebounds and five assists. Sophomore Maceo Baston, Jr. put up 12 points and senior Jeff Holmes had nine points and eight rebounds on the night for the Colts.

Besides his game-winning heroics, Leonard finished with seven points, three assists and three steals. In his second year on varsity, Leonard has been a pleasant surprise this season, providing Fralick with spunky and smart play on both ends of the floor. He poured in a career-high 22 points in Troy's defeat of Utica Ford back in December.

Seaholm had a 26-24 halftime lead and went in front 37-32 entering the fourth quarter of action on Friday. Junior Paris Bass continued his impressive first season on the Maples varsity by tallying 19 points, 10 rebounds and four assists and playing sticky defense on Young the whole way.