The STC Trojans Varsity boys team were all smiles after their come from behind win over Marion on Friday, February 3. The Trojans snagged a crucial conference win 48-44 over Marion. Chronicle Photo/Allison Graham

Sometimes all you need is one shot, one moment, one play to alter the fate of a game. For South Tama that moment came late in the 3rd quarter in a close game against the Marion Indians. STC’s Lane Koch forced a turnover on the Marion side of the court and quickly found junior guard Kaiden Buffalo open down the court. Buffalo then nailed a three pointer that would catapult STC into the fourth quarter and to an eventual win. Buffalo has come up big for the Trojans as of late, scoring a season high 11 points against Grundy Center the night before.

Up until that shot both Marion and South Tama struggled to get any sort of rhythm going. Both teams play an up-tempo style that Friday resulted in several turnovers and a complete scoring drought through the opening minutes of the second half. Buffalo’s three got the Trojans and their fans into gear though.

The other key element to the game were some late clutch free throws by senior Clayton Rosenberger. The Trojans went into a ball control offense towards the end of the fourth quarter which forced Marion to foul. Rosenberger was sent to the line for seven free throws and hit all but two. He also led the Trojans with 16 points (3-5 from beyond the arc) and totalled four steals. Rosenberger’s 51 total steals puts him tied for the second most in Class 3A.

As the postseason looms closer for the Trojans, they go into their final week of play knowing they are likely to face some familiar competition. South Tama is in Substate 5 and is among an all WaMaC field of teams including Benton (10-8), Center Point-Urbana (13-5), Clear Creek-Amana (1-15), Marion (11-7), Vinton-Shellsburg (10-8), Williamsburg (4-12) and an unbeaten West Delaware (14-0) team from the east side of the WaMaC who the Trojans have not faced this year. Substate pairings are scheduled to be released following a coaches meeting on Wednesday.

But first the conference standings will have to be settled. For anyone following the WaMaC west it’s a tangled web of wins and losses. It’s safe to say that Center Point-Urbana will take the conference title after narrowly edging out Williamsburg 57-51 on Friday. However the runner-up spot is still up for grabs as STC, Benton, and Vinton-Shellsburg all have four losses. Benton defeated the Vikings on Friday and with the Trojans set to face the Bobcats on Tuesday a win for either team will likely land them the conference runner up honors and a higher seeding within the Substate 5 bracket. All things considered though this has been an exciting season for the Trojans as it is their first winning season in 15 years.

Kaiden Buffalo claps after nailing a three pointer that took the lead for the Trojans in the 3rd quarter against Marion. STC went on to win 48-44. Chronicle Photo/Allison Graham

STC STATS

Pts – Rosenberger 16, Keahna 11, Davenport 9, Shields 7, Buffalo 3, Tyon 2

FGM/FGA – Rosenberger 4-8, Keahna 4-6, Davenport 4-5, Shields 3-5, Buffalo 1-1, Tyon 1-3, Koch 0-1, Lasley 0-1

3PTM/3PTA – Rosenberger 3-5, Davenport 1-2, Buffalo 1-1, Tyon 0-1

FTM/FTA – Rosenberger 5-7, Keahna 3-4, Shields 1-2

Rebs – Davenport 5, Tyon 4, Shields 3, Rosenberger 3, Koch 2, Buffalo 1, Ward 1, Lasley 1,