Troha's hot shooting inspires
Eagles to win conference opener
By Zachary Dzurick
Sports
Published Dec. 14, 2005

North Olmsted senior Sean Troha made five three-pointers in the first quarter against Westlake. (Photo by Larry Bennet)

North Olmsted senior Sean Troha was first team all conference last season. But in the Eagles first two games, like the rest of his teammates, he struggled shooting the ball.

That changed in North Olmsted's home opener against SWC rival Westlake. Halfway through the first quarter, North Olmsted led 7-4 when Troha caught fire. He made five three-pointers in a row to close out the quarter. The first four all came on assists from senior guard Brian Graul, whose buzzer beater pushed the opening frame lead to 26-15.

For all intents and purposes, the sizzling shooting performance ended the game right there. The Demons scored the first basket of the second quarter to cut the lead to nine but never got any closer. The Eagles pushed the lead to as high as 21 midway through the third quarter. At that point North Olmsted had only committed five turnovers against a Demon defense looking to cause turnovers.

The Eagles, however committed 13 turnovers over the game's last 11 minutes to make the final score 73-58.

In what seems to be a North Olmsted tradition, the Eagles only made seven of their first 12 free throws, but when it counted they made them. The Eagles made all eight free throws in the game's final minutes to secure the victory.

While Troha paced the first quarter, his teammates did the dirty work in the second quarter as he scored only two points. Troha did well not to force shots and the offense was able to get the ball inside. In the second half, the game came back to Troha and he finished with a career high 33 points. The strong effort was a welcome relief.

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"I hadn't been hitting any shots this year and the basket got real big tonight," Troha said. "I was real happy about that. I don't think I have ever made five in one quarter at any level."

All of the looks in the streak of five were wide open. As teams often make a concentrated effort on limiting Troha, was he surprised at just how open his teammates were able to find him?

"I was a little surprised, but they run a lot of trap defense so everyone was open for shots," Troha said. "We go hard all of the time and we have some guys who rebound and defend hard, that is what gets me going."

North Olmsted coach Tim Schmotzer thought Troha's hot hand was the spark his offense needed as a whole.

"We have been struggling as a team from the perimeter," Schmotzer said. "Coming into the game, we were shooting 11 percent for threes in the first two games. I know Sean really lit it up early. He got the kids more aggressive and gave them energy."

Schmotzer's teams always hang their hats on their defense. While the game wasn't the prettiest, he liked the effort.

"Maybe we didn't play as well defensively tonight, but that is more of the flow of the game," Schmotzer said. "We have been pretty decent defensively all season. The kids attacked and I am very happy for them. It was a good win to get under our belt as it was our first home game and a win we really needed."

The Eagles lack size, as the leaders on defense have been 6'1 senior forward Joe Weir and 6'2 senior center Jordan Leheney.

"Joe Weir, in our opener had 14 points and 14 rebounds," Schmotzer said. "He is consistently undersized, but he really plays a smart game. He makes a great effort at all times. Jordan Leheney may be somewhat limited on the offensive end, but as far as getting his nose in there and boxing out. I am sure he was double digits in rebounds."

The final stats say North Olmsted committed 17 turnovers, for the majority of the game though the Eagles did take care of the ball. Schmotzer believes that was key.

"We felt if we could kept it under a dozen turnovers, they would struggle to beat us," Schmotzer said. "I think we set the tone early by taking care of the ball, but then they really extended in the second half. That was out first game experience with people extending on us. We will get better. Our guard play will develop and I think will be a strength on our team."

North Olmsted teams always play tough defense. Schmotzer believes that his team's offensive identity will develop.

"We have to develop on the offensive end," Schmotzer said. "We will need guys to step up. We will be ok. It is a matter to get some confidence. I have not used my bench as much as I want but we have some guys who came contribute and do some things there. Eventually we will become a solid team."