MANCHESTER — The South Tama boys basketball team hit the road last Friday night to make the long trip to Manchester to face off against their conference foes from West Delaware. Both teams felt like they have to get a win at this later point in the season for some much needed momentum going into their substate contests. .

As the game got underwa,y West Delaware started off on fire from 3-point range. Juniors Griffin Lott and Seth Jackson were both able to control the offensive success by hitting their shots and getting to the basket with ease. Meanwhile the Trojans were struggling to put points on the board in the first quarter as the Hawks took a 15-7 lead.

But the Trojans were bound to start converting on offense eventually as freshman Emerson Bridgewater and senior Daniel Wiese both took charge making multiple shots near the basket. This allowed South Tama to go on an 11-0 run in the second quarter getting the Trojans right back into the game.

The Trojans also were able to make successful adjustments on defense to keep West Delaware’s good shooters from getting clear chances to score. Unfortunately for the Trojans even with the improved second quarter the Hawks were still able to hold onto a 1-point lead going into halftime, as the score was set at 23-22.

Coming out of halftime, neither team seemed to have found a clear advantage, as the score stayed close throughout the third quarter. Both teams stepped up on defense not allowing many points to be scored, for the Trojans senior Kaden Kopsa and sophomore Cyrell Etzen came off the bench and provided solid minutes and needed momentum. West Delaware senior Conrad Smith was able to anchor the defense for the Hawks to give them a 33-28 lead going into the final quarter.

Down by five points with a quarter left to go, it was now or never for the Trojans if they wanted to claim this win on the road. Luckily for South Tama senior Cade Rosenberger stepped up to that challenge and took the game into his own hands.

Rosenberger was able to pull off one of his best shooting quarters of his high school basketball career, hitting multiple 3-point shots in a row. Rosenburger was also able to get several clutch steals in the final few minutes of the game and convert them into easy layups as the Trojans started to pull away with the game. When it was all said and done, the Trojans led by Rosenberger, put up 22 points in the fourth quarter, which gave them the 50-43 win over the Hawks.

With his impressive fourth quarter play, Rosenberger led the team in points with 17, followed by Bridgewater with 14. Bridgewater also led the team in rebounds, while Wiese led the team in assists on the night. The Trojans were back in action again on Thursday for senior night at home against conference rivals, the Williamsburg Raiders.