Trojans won 17 games; Orange, Davidson earn all-conference accolades.
By Mike Miazga
Correspondent
While the end result wasn’t what it wanted, the Timothy Christian boys basketball team can hang its hat on another strong season.
The Trojans went 17-11 overall and finished second in the Metro Suburban Conference Red Division with an 8-4 record.
Timothy lost 53-52 to IC Catholic Prep in a Class 2A regional championship game at IC Catholic Prep.
“It was a tough loss to IC,” said LeGrand. “It was a good basketball game with a lot of lead changes back and forth. They made one more basket than we did. The kids did a good job and I’m very proud of them. It was a great high-school atmosphere. We played a tough game. It was a hard loss, but I’m very proud of our guys’ championship effort the entire game.”
Brandon Orange led the Trojans with 17 points in the game.
“We had a shot go off the rim at the buzzer after they had hit a basket on a scramble play,” said LeGrand. “We had a shot at the end with nine seconds. I was really proud of what I saw. The guys really improved this season.”
LeGrand will take many positives into the postseason. “Our guys had a really good year,” he said. “Our younger guys gained some valuable experience and the leadership of our seniors will be missed. It’s going to be weird without a Davidson on the team (brothers Luke and Joey have played for LeGrand). We competed in every game and there were a few games that we wish we could replay. I’m very proud of the effort. The juniors gained some valuable time. Brandon Orange took a big leap. Ty Merrick played a lot of minutes and Jimmy Allen, Michael Thomas and Nick Huisman are some of the others who got better. It’s going to be hard to lose the seniors, but we’ll add some competitive kids from the sophomore team.”
Orange and Davidson earned all-MSC Red honors. Jonny Strube was named honorable-mention all-conference.
“Our sophomore team had a good year as well and our freshman team battled,” said LeGrand. “The pieces are there. The future is bright and we’re excited about going into our new facility next year (Timothy’s new middle school and competition arena is slated to open later this year).”
Timothy graduates seniors Trayvon Williams, Davidson, Strube, Nick Tameling and Jon Hoekstra.
“The seniors showed us good leadership,” said LeGrand. “They showed you had to work out there. We’ll miss the seniors. It’s hard to say goodbye to those guys because they have given a lot to the program. We had a very good year. It’s hard losing any game but nobody wants to lose in a regional championship game. The future is going to be good at Timothy Christian. We’ll get there.”
