South Tama County Senior James Brant, right, puts up a shot over Benton Community’s Gavin Brooks during last Friday night’s home conference contest. The Trojans defeated the Bobcats 57-46. NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO

It was another great night for basketball at South Tama County High School last Friday as the Benton Bobcats made the trip to take on the improving Trojan boys squad and won 57-46.

The Trojans were coming off a competitive five point loss to the Clear Creek-Amana Clippers on the road earlier in the week, so with that in the back of their minds it provided much needed motivation to secure a win in front of the home crowd. The Bobcats on the other hand just one day earlier got a win against the Vinton-Shellsburg Vikings, so with both teams finding success at the same time this matchup would prove to be a good one.

It was all South Tama to start off the game, the Trojans were able to quickly establish themselves on both the offensive and defensive end. Senior Cade Rosenburger was able to knock down multiple shots from the midrange for the Trojans forcing the Bobcat defense into tough situations. On the other side of the floor, senior Jeramy Dolash and freshman Emerson Bridgewater contested and blocked several shot attempts from the Bobcats helping the Trojans gain a 16-11 advantage at the end of the first quarter.

As the second quarter got underway, the Bobcats started to get hot from three-point range. Seniors Owen Tjelmeland and Wyatt Rinderknecht both were able to hit shots against the Trojans defense as they slowly cut into the lead before half. But the Trojans defense held strong against the Bobcat run and the offense did just enough to allow South Tama to maintain a 28-25 lead against Benton heading into halftime.

Unfortunately for the Trojans, they weren’t able to copy the same hot start they had at the beginning of the game into the second half, which the Bobcats took advantage of. Senior Quincy Gilbert was able to score close to the basket with ease.

STC’s Emerson Bridgewater elevates for a shot over Benton’s Wyatt Rinderknecht during last Friday night’s conference win. NEWS CHRONICLE PHOTO

This aided the Bobcats in taking the lead early in the third quarter, but South Tama’s scoring drought didn’t last long as seniors Tommy Tyynismaa and James Brant were able to keep the game even at 37-37 going into the fourth quarter.

With the game having gone back and forth all night, it was safe to say both fan bases expected a close finish. But they got anything but that as the Trojans took over the final eight minutes of action. Seniors Daniel Wiese and Rosenberger caught fire from three-point range and the Trojans all stepped it up on defense to outscore Benton 20-9 in the fourth quarter for a 57-46 South Tama victory.

Rosenberger was the leading scorer for the Trojans on the night with a season high 22 points. Following him was freshman Emerson Bridgewater 15 points. Wiese led the team in rebounds with six and assists with three. With this win, the Trojans moved to 3-6 in conference competition with a chance to continue to improve on that on the road Tuesday against Grinnell.