By Cooper Zablocki
Friday, Jan. 10 the Atlantic Trojans hosted the Denison Monarchs in a boys basketball showdown. In their first game against the Monarchs, the Trojans fell short by 10 points after trailing for the majority of the game. The Trojans battled hard, even closing Denison’s lead to five points with 1:05 left. However, at the final buzzer the Monarch’s lead was extended to 56-46.
Junior Joey Walker was Atlantic’s leading scorer with 17 points. Denison’s Parker Eller proved to be a tough match for the Trojans, his deep three pointers silenced the Atlantic student section, and made him a large offensive threat. Atlantic’s Garrett Franken answered Eller’s threes, with 3 of his own. One of Franken’s threes came with just a little over a minute left in the 4th quarter, giving Atlantic momentum and a new burst of energy. With Denison getting the ball back, Atlantic was forced to foul, which put the game out of the Trojan’s grasp.
Atlantic fought the duration of the game, but just couldn’t close the gap. However, there are still plenty of games left in the season for the Trojans to prove their ability. The boys will travel to Glenwood on Tuesday for another chance at the Rams.