Michael Jones’ game-winning layup puts Trinity on top of CPL standings

Trinity Academy sophomore Michael Jones committed two game-changing plays in the finals minutes that favored Conway Springs.

Then he won the game for Trinity.

With the top spot in the Central Plain League standings on the line, the Knights were down by one with 49 seconds left. Jones took command of the Trinity offense, driving past three defenders for a layup that gave Trinity the lead with 21 seconds to go. The Knights forced a Conway Springs turnover in the Cardinals’ final offensive possession, giving them the 56-55 win on Friday night.

Jones scored 15 points off the bench to give Trinity (13-2) a one-game lead in the CPL standings. His winning basket came shortly after he’d missed a layup and committed a turnover.

“We always talk about the next play, whether you went in and scored the go-ahead basket or whether you turn it over,” Trinity coach Steve Miller said. “(Michael) plays enought ball, plays a lot of summer and spring ball, and he just knows to forget about that missed turnover or missed layup. He has a short memory on mistakes.”

Trinity started the third quarter on a 7-0 scoring run until a Conway Springs basket cut the lead to 42-37 with 2:41 left in the quarter. A basket from senior Jacob Winter tied the score at 42 with under a minute to play.

Winter’s three pointer turned the lead back over to the Cardinals as the fourth quarter begun. After two Trinity baskets, Winter drove into contact to move Conway Springs ahead by one.

Two three-point baskets by Jones extended Trinity’s lead to four before the Cardinals bounced back to score an easy layup with 2:30 remaining.

“It’s a tough pill to swallow, there’s no question about that,” Conway Springs coach Paul Lange said. “It’s tough but you’ve got to lace them up and come back ready to play on the next one. That’s the nature of the game.”

Winter finished with a game-high of 21 points while Noah Finstad added 17 points. Trinity senior Luke Prohaska scored 15 points.

“We just talked about it in the locker room that it’s not over,” Miller said. “We got a one-game lead on Conway, but we’ve got five CPL opponents yet to play and we’re the hunted. They’re going to bring their A-game every night.”

This story was originally published February 3, 2017 at 10:25 PM with the headline "Michael Jones’ game-winning layup puts Trinity on top of CPL standings."