They said the Rams wouldn’t make it through the districts, or through the regionals, and then they said they wouldn’t make the final four in the state championship basketball finals. ‘They’ were wrong. The Rams ended their season in Columbus winning their semifinal game against Lancaster 54-50 last Friday night and took the schools first turn trying to claim the top spot in the state.

But that is where their streak ended as Canton-McKinley soundly defended the state title they earned last year. There is no nice way to put it. McKinley clobbered the Rams 63-33.

It was an up and down weekend for Trotwood Madison player and fans. Fridays contest with Lancaster started with an early Ram lead that kept the sea of red shirted fans on their feet most of the game. By half time the Rams led 24-16 and victory was within reach.

Early in the 4th period the tide shifted to favor Lancaster. Trotwood was leading 44-30 when a Lancaster drive put them within 1 point late in the game. The Rams, seeing their state win fading before their eyes stepped up. With 2 minutes left the score was 47-46.

Junior Patric Hill nailed 4 straight free throws to give the Rams 51. Lancaster answered back to close the gap but Armond Darby secured the win with 3 free throws of his own. Chris Wright got in there too blocking a Lancaster 3-pointer in the stretch.

Ibrahim Marone led the team with 18 points, Patric Hill 7, Brittish Alexander and Chris Wright at 6, Armond Darby 5, and Dominic Britt, Scott Jones, Duane Morgan all hit 4.

The battle against McKinley the next night was to be much different.
As the game ended Saturday night long faces looked on. The Rams were outplayed at nearly every step. The McKinley offense set the pace early with a defensive wall of big college recruits that kept Trotwood out of the pocket and batted away good shots from the outside. The 21-7 deficit at the end of the first period loomed over the crowd. Even Trotwood’s Ibrahim Marone was contained posting only 2 points for the game.

One surprise for the Rams was Duane Morgan’s 9 game points including the Rams only 3-pointer for the night. Also scoring for Trotwood were: Chris Wright 8, Seth Addison 6, and British Alexander, Domonick Britt, Carson Byrd, Jerrell Leak all with 2.

But the smiles came back on Sunday as the team arrived home with a police and fire escort to the high school. An estimated 500 fans turned out waving signs to Trotwood’s returning champions. The district’s first basketball team to go to state returned with the 2nd place runner-up trophy and a permanent spot in Trotwood sports history.

For more details and the Totally Trotwood State Finals Photo Gallery visit www.TotallyTrotwood.com Over 60 pictures from the weekend are in the gallery and copies are available for a limited time from Knoll Studio on Main St.