HIGH SCHOOL

Trey Lyles dominates in Tech’s 83-75 victory over Pike

By Tom Moor
Star correspondent

If Tech High School basketball fans were anxious about how the Titans would respond coming off their first loss in more than two months, Trey Lyles put them at ease early on.

Lyles and the Titans came out on fire Saturday night. Host Tech jumped out to a 14-point first-quarter lead and led by as many as 23 in the second half before holding on for an 83-75 nonconference win against Pike.

Lyles was dominant. The 6-10 senior forward scored a game-high 38 points on 15-for-24 shooting, and added 15 rebounds and four assists for the Titans (18-2), ranked No. 3 in Class 4A.

“We believe he’s the best player in the state,” Tech coach Jason Delaney said of his IndyStar Mr. Basketball candidate. “He’s putting up these numbers against the best teams in the state. That’s what you expect from a McDonald’s All American.”

Tech was lights out from the field in the first half, shooting 19-of-34 en route to a 45-30 halftime lead. The Titans also connected on five 3-pointers and played swarming defense that led to early Pike turnovers.

Tech was coming off a 77-71 home loss to Class 4A No. 2 Hamilton Southeastern last weekend that snapped a 16-game winning streak. Delaney said his team had full practices for the first time last week since Jan. 15 because of delays and school closings. That may have impacted their conditioning, and helped contribute to Pike (9-6) climbing back into the game.

“It’s been awhile since we’ve had full practices,” Lyles said. “We were really able to work on ball screens and defense, and were able to get some work on our shots.”

Leading 56-33 with 5 minutes left in the third quarter, the Titans may have run out of gas, Delany indicated. The Red Devils went on an 18-6 run to close the gap to 62-51 early in the fourth quarter. Pike senior forward Jalen Morgan scored 10 of his 16 points in the third to pull close.

Pike kept picking away and had the ball down six points inside a minute to play, but the Titans were able to hold on.

“They got off to a terrific start and shot the ball well,” Pike coach Bill Zych said of Tech. “But I couldn’t be prouder with the guys in the second half. They have heart, and really battled back against a great team.”

He said his team struggled — like so many — to defend Lyles.

“Down there in the box, he’s tough,” he said. “We tried to do some different things. Their other guys shot the ball well from the perimeter, and they had some hard cuts that led to dunks.”

Senior guard Jeremie Tyler added 15 points, while senior forward Michael Jones contributed 13 points and eight assists for the Titans, who play host to Zionsville on Feb. 21.

“The guys are tired, but we have a 13-day layoff now,” Delaney said. “We need to get back in shape and come out and be able to hold on to the lead better when they respond.”

Senior Kendall Rollins and freshman Justin Roberts also scored 16 for the Red Devils.

Box

Tech 83, Pike 75

Pike 10 20 19 26—75

Tech 24 21 17 21—83

Pike— Jeff White 1, Tahjai Teague 5, Jalen Morgan 16, Kendall Rollins 16, Justin Thomas 13, Zach Long 6, Justin Roberts 16, Dejoin Shelton 2. Totals 30 9-15 75.

Tech— C.J. Walker 5, Jeremie Tyler 15, Michael Jones 13, Trey Lyles 38, Rashaun Richardson 10, Demetrius Shaw 2. Totals 32 14-20 83.

3-Point Goals - Pike 6 (Teague 1, Rollins 4, Roberts 1). Tech 5 (Walker 1, Tyler 1, Jones 3).