Cameron Krumm's big performance fuels Trojan win

The Tri-County and English Valleys boys basketball squads were each searching for their first win on the season, when they clashed in North English on December 12. Tri-County was able to walk out with a 61-19 win, thanks in big part to Cameron Krumm's 20 –plus point and rebound performance.

Krumm has started to consistently find himself scoring double figures on a nightly basis, using his size and experience to his advantage. The Trojan offense tried to work the ball through their post player, who does more than just shoot and rebound. E.V. worked to try and attack the height of their opponents, trying to get them into some early foul trouble.

"We needed something tonight to come out positive for the effort we put in," Trojan coach Curtis Fisher said. "We needed some confidence with some of our young guys struggling. Overall, just a lot of energy and physicality from us tonight."

While both teams did commit some early fouls, including a couple by Nolan Grove for E.V., there weren't many points put up on the board. E.V. made some baskets early on in the paint, but when they missed, Tri-County would scoop up the rebound and be on the attack by looking to score before E.V. had set their defense. When the Bears were able to stop the ball from getting to the post, one of the Trojans would find a gap on the outside and attempt a shot, with two threes being made in the opening minutes. With one quarter down, the score was 19-6 in favor of the Trojans.

“I thought our guys played better defense tonight,” E.V. coach Caleb Lewis said. “We competed well in the first half.”

Krumm began to become more of a factor in the ensuing quarter, either boxing out his man or grabbing a rebound and going back up with a shot. He would either score or find his way to the free throw line, in which he made a majority of his attempts. At the half, the Trojan lead was extended 35-10, with Krumm recording 15 points.

"Krumm is pretty much everything for us, we go as he goes," Fisher said. "He's all over the place, he's a stat sheet stuffer for us. Every single time we come out, he's the guy we have to get going."

Some other Trojans began to tally some points in the second half, including Brayden Monroe and Aydan Bos. Monroe also began to get multiple steals, which led to transition points for the Trojans. For the Bears, Grove and Hayden Irmen were able to get a score each. Grove was able to score after staying aggressive around the hoop, and putting up a shot shortly after grabbing a rebound. Irmen had a quick impact after coming into the game, getting a spin around jumper after finding the ball in his hands. With one quarter to go the score was 55-14.

“Noah got in foul trouble early which really hurt because he is our best post defender and most physical,” Lewis said. “He’s one of our captains so he continued to compete and try and get our guys to keep playing when the score got rough.”

From then on, both teams began to sub in some of their reserves. Neither side could really get much going, either turning the ball over or missing and having to get back on defense. The Trojans edged out E.V. 6-5 in the final quarter, to make the score 61-19.

The Bears were led by their point guard Brayden Fisher, who wound up with five points and one steal. Grove finished with four points and seven rebounds, while Jacob Glandon also had four points to go along with three steals.

For the Trojans, Krumm had his second double-double on the season, behind a 25 point and 28 rebound performance. He also had four assists, one steal and a team-high three blocked shots. Monroe was the only other Trojan to reach double figures with 14 points. Monroe also led the team with nine steals and five assists in the win.

The Trojans followed up the win over E.V. with a 44-33 win over North Mahaksa on December 15, while the Bears fell to Colfax-Mingo 15-72.