The Atlantic Trojans boys dropped their second to last conference matchup of the season to the Harlan Cyclones 72-58 Tuesday night. The game was all about the Cyclones. Atlantic did not play particularly poor, but Harlan did everything they needed do to. The were extremely efficient offense, rebounded well, and limited Atlantic’s secondary scoring. Although the Trojans had a solid start to the third quarter on top of wonderful individual effort from Gavin McLaren, the Cyclones didn’t let the game get away from as they denied the Trojans as late season win.

Despite the final score, Harlan didn’t come roaring out of the gate. Gavin McLaren hit a pair of field goals and a pair of threes, and Atlantic was right in it. However, over the final four minutes of the first quarter, Harlan went on a 9-2 run to take a 12-point lead.

The Cyclones picked up where they left off to start to second quarter. In the first half of the second, they outscored Atlantic 12-5 to increase their lead to 15. Throughout much of the first half, Harlan was incredibly efficient on offense and rebounded extremely well, particularly on the offensive glass. There were numerous times in which the Cyclones earned second and third chance opportunities that either led to points or free throws. Meanwhile on the opposite end they were able to limit the Trojans’ production and took an 18-point lead into the half.

The third quarter was Atlantic’s best. Although they surrendered an early bucket, the intensity was different. They played faster and more physical which resulted in the Trojans chipping into the 20-point lead. three minutes into the fourth, Atlantic had trimmed the deficit to 11. However, after a well-timed timeout, the Cyclones settled in. Slowing the pace down slightly, they were able to reel-in the momentum the Trojans had built and take it back themselves. By the end of the third, they had reestablished a 20-point led.

The outcome was all but decided by the time the fourth quarter rolled around but there were still some bright spots. Gavin McLaren continued to be a force, as he was throughout the course of the night, scoring 18 points in the second half. Late in the fourth quarter Sawyer Terrell started to connect from downtown as well, hitting two of his three second half threes in the final minutes of regulation. However, a 20-point deficit was too much to overcome as the Cyclones handed Atlantic their 14th loss of the season.

Head Coach Dalton Franken was proud of Gavin Mclaren and his game leading 28-point effort but thought they could’ve gotten the ball down in the paint more in the early going.

Kobe Klaassen was a big factor in Harlan building their first half lead.

The Trojans have two regular season games remaining on the schedule, the first of which will be senior night against Lenox.

Friday’s night game in Atlantic will tipoff at 7:30 pm.