Timothy Christian turns the tables on Addison Trail

Everything the Addison Trail boys basketball team did right in the first half of Tuesday's game against Timothy Christian, the Blazers did wrong in the second half, and the Trojans made them pay.

Timothy senior Danny Leach scored 13 of his 16 points in the second half as the Trojans finally got up to their typical game speed to defeat Addison Trial 59-47 in pool play at the ninth annual Glenbard West Holiday Classic.

"We knew at halftime we were struggling and coach (Jack LeGrand) just said to play how we normally play," Leach said. "He can't be the one out there telling us to get going, so we just decided to pick it up."

The Trojans' improvement in pace and offensive efficiency coincided with the Blazers' failure to do what they did so well in the first half, namely close baskets and involving everyone in the offense.

"I don't know if we ended up with 0 or 1 offensive rebound, but with a minute left we had none," said Addison Trail coach Brendan Lyons, whose team was outrebounded 18-9 in the second half. "We just completely got away from playing team basketball. We tried to do things on our own, dribbled the basketball with our head down, threw the ball to people in bad spots, and stood around watching. That led to contested jumpshots and they pretty much dominated the glass."

Arnin Trgo led the Blazers (3-7) with 23 points, 6 rebounds and 4 steals but was held to just 8 points in the second half.

"We tried to handle their shooter and we challenged guys to rotate over," LeGrand said about his halftime adjustments. "Bottom line is we played team defense with all five instead of one guy."

The Trojans (6-6) also got solid contributions across the board offensively.

Mike Pizzello and Matt Morrison each scored 12 points and combined for 14 rebounds, while Chris Ridolphi chipped in 9 points and had a big shot block on Trgo in the fourth quarter.

When Timothy gets out running and its players move the ball around quickly, the Trojans have shown they are a team that can put up points.

"Some games we understand that and some games we go into a funk," LeGrand said. "I think once our guys do spread out, share the ball and make a better pass instead of just a good pass, we finish a lot better and get a strong field goal percentage. That's what makes us stronger, when we rely on everybody together."