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WEIRTON -- Basketball games are often won or lost at the free throw line.
Unfortunately for the Madonna boys basketball team, Trinity Christian converted from the charity stripe down the stretch, en route to a 69-60 victory Tuesday night inside the Dube Dome.
The Warriors were 8 for 8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter -- with all eight shots coming in the final 35.1 seconds of the game -- to seal the deal.
"It was a good high school basketball game," Madonna (6-2) head coach George Vargo said. "Trinity played better than we did. They shot the ball great. They made their shots from the foul line. The Blue Dons just came up short tonight."
The Warriors were a perfect 15 of 15 from the foul line on the night, while the Blue Dons made 7 of 8 attempts.
Madonna led Trinity Christian by five points at halftime, but the visitors outscored the hosts by 14 points in the second half to rally for the victory.
"Our shots did not fall," Vargo said about the second half. "When your shots don't fall, you are not going to win. We missed too many opportunities in the paint. We did not finish in the paint. When you miss shots in the paint, those misses catch up to you. The big key was we did not shoot the ball well in the paint."
Both teams relied on a handful of players for the majority of their points. All told, seven players produced double digits in points.
Santino Arlia and Lucky Pulice each tallied a team-high 14 points for Madonna. Brennan Secrist collected 13 points and Evan Boniti netted 10. Pulice pulled down a team-high seven rebounds, while Boniti dished out a team-high three assists. Madonna committed 10 turnovers in the loss.
For the Warriors, Fletcher Hartsock collected a game-high 28 points (16 in the second half). Seth Goins netted 21 points, and Carter Anderson contributed 13 points.
"Our kids played hard," Vargo said. "I cannot ask anything more than for them to play hard. Trinity shot the ball well. I thought our defense was good tonight. Trinity just shot the ball really well tonight."
Madonna got off to a good start and led 17-8 late in the first quarter before Goins drained one of his three 3-pointers on the night to pull the Warriors to within 17-11 at the end of the frame.
Madonna made the first basket of the second to go up by eight, but Trinity Christian stormed back, and a three-point play by Noah Kurilko gave the Warriors a 23-22 lead. The Blue Dons rose to the occasion and ripped off a 10-2 run to take a 32-25 lead before a late basket pulled Trinity Christian to within 32-27 at halftime.
The third quarter belonged to Hartsock and the Warriors. Trinity Christian outscored Madonna, 19-8, in the quarter to take a 46-40 lead into the fourth. Hartosck scored 12 points in the quarter to lead the Warriors' charge.
The victors scored the first basket of the fourth to go up by eight points, but a pair of three-point plays (one by Secrist and one by Pulice) pulled the Blue Dons to within 53-51.
The Warriors fought back and hit back-to-back 3-pointers to regain an eight-point advantage at 61-53.
The Blue Dons answered with a two-point shot and a 3-pointer by Arlia, who was 4 for 4 from beyond the arc, to pull within 61-58 with 1:07 remaining in the game.
The final 10 points of the game were scored from the foul line.
"They had the last run," Vargo said. "They were 8 for 8 from the foul line in the fourth quarter. That was the difference in the game. Basketball games are won at the foul line. That's your headline. Basketball games are won at the foul line, and Trinity proved that tonight."
GAME NOTE
The Warriors won the JV game, 49-40. Gabe Jackson netted a game-high 15 points to lead the way for Trinity Christian, while Lennon Dietrich delivered 14 points for Madonna.
UP NEXT
Trinity Christian: Hosts Clay-Battelle today.
Madonna: Travels to play Weir Friday night in the annual city championship.
"It is a city rivalry," Vargo said. "It doesn't matter if Weir is 0-10, or we are 0-10. It is good the city. It is good for the community. It is good for the schools. It is good for the student bodies. It's good for the grandma's and the pap-paps. It is going to be a fun game Friday. We are going to have to rebound. We are going to work hard and get ready for Weir Friday night."
Trinity Christian 69, Madonna 60
Trinity Christian 11-16-19-23 -- 69
Madonna 13-15-8-20 -- 60
TRINITY CHRISTIAN (2-6): Moore 0 0-0 0; Goins 8 2-2 21; Anderson 3 4-4 13; Teets 0 0-0 0; Beimel 0 0-0 0; Hartsock 12 4-4 28; Boczek 0 0-0 0; Jackson 0 0-0 0; Kurilko 1 5-5 7; Gadd 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 24, 15-15: 69.
MADONNA (6-2): Secrist 6 1-1 13; Sessi 2 2-2 6; Arlia 5 0-0 14; Boniti 3 2-2 10; Burdine 0 0-0 0; Amaismeier 1 0-0 3; Pulice 6 2-3 14; Bone 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 22, 7-8: 60.
3-POINTERS: Trinity Christian (Goins 3, Anderson 3); Madonna 6 (Arlia 4, Boniti 2).