TORRINGTON – The Torrington Trailblazers went into the break down 36-25 Tuesday against Gering, Neb., but came out of the break with a vengeance to snag a 74-67 win.
Both teams scored 16 points in the first quarter. The Blazers fell behind in the second quarter after only putting up nine points in the frame, while allowing the Bulldogs to pour in 20, giving the home team an 11-point deficit.
Trailing by 11 after halftime, Torrington’s offense exploded for 26 points in the third quarter and holding Gering to 18. With a quarter to go, the Blazers had cut the lead to two points (53-51). In the final quarter, Torrington poured in 23 points to Gering’s 13 to snag the win. The Blazers had a three-point lead with less than a minute to go, but their free throws down the stretch iced the game, giving the Blazes the 74-67 win.
Jordan Malm was on fire in the game, hitting 4-of-8 from behind the arc, 4-of-7 from two-point land and 8-of-8 from the free-throw line. He finished the game with 28 points, three rebounds, four assists and a steal.
Bryan Lemmon tallied 19 points in the victory, including three three-pointers, which he combined with eight rebounds, three assists, a steal and a block. Jared Lemmon charted a double-double on the night, racking up 11 points, 10 rebounds and an assist. Nathan Stitt was the final Blazer in double-figures, chipping in 10 points, five boards, a steal, a block and a team-high in assists, with seven.
Bo Moorehouse, Ryan Johnson and Josh Posten rounded out the scoring for Torrington, with two points apiece. The trio also combined for nine rebounds, two assists and a steal.
As a team, the Blazers shot 49 percent from the floor. All seven of the made three-pointers came from Malm or Bryan Lemmon, with the team shooting 7-of-18 (39 percent). Inside the arc, the Blazers accounted for 19-of-35 shooting (54 percent). At the charity stripe, Torrington hit 15-of-16 for 94 percent on the night.
Torrington upped its record to 7-5 on the year, still with a 1-1 record against quadrant opponents. The Blazers take their three-game winning streak into Friday’s home game against Douglas, with a 7 p.m. varsity tip.
