Riston Taylor scored 23 points for Troy Christian at Lehman Catholic on Feb. 13, 2026. (Press Pros Feature Photos By Julie Wright-Daniel)
Riston Taylor scored 23 points to lead Troy Christian to a 9-point win at Lehman Catholic on Friday night, gaining a measure of revenge.
By Marcus Hartman for Press Pros
Sidney, OH — Troy Christian won a spirited battle for second place in the Three Rivers Conference on Friday night at Lehman Catholic.
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Little but pride was on the line, but then sometimes pride means everything.
The Eagles also wanted revenge for a heart-breaking one-point loss to the Cavaliers last month.
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They got that and perhaps some things to feel good heading into the postseason with a 52-43 win.
“We definitely have a lot of momentum,” Troy Christian senior forward Riston Taylor said after scoring 23 points to lead all scorers Friday night. “We think we’re gonna go on a really good tournament run, so we’re just sticking together as a team and making sure we stick to that goal.”
That was a challenge earlier this season when the Eagles (17-4, 11-3 TRC) lost three in a row — to Northridge, this same Lehman Catholic squad and undefeated Tri-Village to begin the new year — but they rebounded to win their next six.
Noah Fecher looks to pass the ball at Lehman Catholic.
Northridge, who entered the weekend 20-1, ended that streak with a 60-57 win last Friday night, and then the Eagles lost by 12 at Valley View on Saturday, but they bounced back to beat Miami East on a buzzer-beater Tuesday before getting revenge over the Cavaliers on Friday night.
“I just think that I’ve seen my guys mature through the course of the season from where we were early to where we are now, we’re a lot better,” Zawadzki said.
“Defensively, our core — we actually are playing a lot harder on the defensive end, and we’re playing a lot more unselfish on the offensive end. And when you start doing that, playing hard and playing smart, it equals a positive basketball experience.
“The kids are starting to experience that, and I’m happy for second place in the conference. I don’t believe too many people put us there to start the season, so we’re excited about that. Northridge is this special this year.”
That defense was on display as the Cavaliers (16-5, 11-4 TRC) struggled to make shots much of the night.
In the first half, they didn’t generate as many as coach Jeremy Hughes would have liked, but he thought they missed some they wanted in the second half.
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“Taking over this program, that’s one thing I harped on those kids at all the time: You guys got to be confident shooters,” said Hughes, who is in his first season as the head coach of the Cavaliers after being the head coach of the girls program at Troy. “Everyone’s got a green light. I don’t cuff the kids, you know what I mean? I want them to have the confidence to be able to knock down shots, but I think there was a couple of times they shot the ball in the first half, but I don’t think they really shot with confidence. That was one of the things that we talked about at halftime.
Connor George (left) drives to the basket against Lehman Catholic.
“I think we got some better shots in the second half. I thought we were more aggressive.”
Lehman controlled the first quarter — until the last two minutes.
The Cavaliers led 8-1, but the Eagles finished the first on a 7-0 as Taylor scored TC’s first field goal on a driving layup with a little more than a minute on the clock, then Noah Fecher hit a three from the left wing.
After a Lehman miss, Taylor went to work again, using two screens to get to the basket for a layup as time expired to tie the game at eight.
Taylor put the Eagles on top for the first time with a three-pointer from the corner with 6:38 left the second quarter then made another from way behind the line two minutes later to extend the TC run to 13-0.
Lehman’s Gus Richard finally ended that with a free throw at the 3:34 mark, but Brennan Hochwalt scored at the other end for TC to make it a seven-point game, then the Eagles scored again with :20 seconds left to double up the hosts at 18-9.
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But as was the case with the first quarter, the trailing team put together a little flourish to make it more interesting.
This time it was all C.J. Olding. He was fouled shooting a three with 14 seconds left and made two free throws. Then he stole the ball at the other end and went the distance for a layup that he made while absorbing contact.
Austin Stangel drives to the basket for Troy Christian.
Olding sunk the free throw with 1.5 seconds left to suddenly bring the hosts within four, which is where it stayed after a desperation Troy Christian heave was off the mark to end the half.
Taylor had 10 in the first half for the Eagles while Olding, Evan O’Leary and Jackson Kennedy all had four. Richard scored the other point as leading scorer Shane Frantz was shut out.
He finally scored with 1:22 left in the third quarter when he made a pair of free throws to draw Lehman within a point at 25-24, but Stangel connected on a long three-pointer.
That was the last basket of the third, sending the teams to the final stanza with Troy Christian holding the same four-point lead it had at halftime.
Troy Christian led by 12 with 2:31 left, but things got a bit heated in the final two minutes.
The Cavaliers got within five thanks to their press, but then a foul in the backcourt and a technical foul on the Lehman bench gave Stangel four free throws, and he made them all.
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Still the hosts kept coning after that, but they couldn’t get closer than seven the rest of the way.
Backing up Riston’s 23 points were Fecher with nine and Stangel and Connor George each with seven.
Frantz entered the game averaging a TRC-best 20.4 points per game, but he finished with only eight against the Eagles. Olding had nine, but O’Leary led the way with 12.
Troy Christian coach Ray Zawadzki Jr. celebrates a win at Lehman.
Zawadzki credited Austen Taylor for keeping Frantz in check. He followed the 6-5 Cavaliers junior all over the floor while Troy Christian switched defenses, including playing both a box-and-1 and a triangle and two to frustrate the hosts — even if their coach didn’t think it should have.
“We have set plays to run against the triangle-and-two,” Hughes said. “This is not the first time we’ve seen it.
“When they see defenses like that, you know, they they just kind of get frustrated and upset, you know what I mean? Because it kind of takes the takes them out of the flow of their game so we just got to continue to tell them to be aggressive, coming off screens, posting up.”
His team is set to finish the regular season with a visit from Bradford on Saturday night while Lehman will play Newton at home Tuesday.
“The good news is we’re healthy, so I like that,” Zawazki said. “I also like the fact that we’re coming off a good quality win, and I like the fact that my kids still are engaged in the process.
“I’m excited about it. I mean, it’s my 33rd year of coaching, and I’m having just as much fun this year as I did my first year at Vandalia. And I love them so much. I will not want this season to end.”
TC’s Austin Taylor (10) slowed down Lehman’s Shane Frantz all night.
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