By GREG CHRAPEK
After having its string of district titles snapped last year, the Fulton basketball team bounced back in a big way. It not only reclaimed a district title, but it also advanced to the Class D regional finals before its season came to an end.
The Pirates turned in a 21-3 record this year, and with plenty of talented players due back next year, the future looks bright.
“As a whole, you can’t be too disappointed about 21-3,” coach Todd Walden said. “We finished a game out of first behind Pewamo-Westphalia in our league and split with Pewamo-Westphalia this year. We are still a pretty young team, and all in all, it was a pretty good year for us.”
Fulton won its fourth district title in the last five years.
“The kids were disappointed we didn’t win the district last year,” Walden said. “That was a big goal for us this year, and when we won it, that was a big weight off our shoulders. It was a good year, and we were playing our best basketball at the end of the year.”
The year would have included a regional title if not for an incredible buzzer-beating shot by Sacred Heart Academy in the regional championship game. The shot was highlighted on ESPN’s Sportscenter that night. “It was a once-in-a-lifetime shot, but we had some missed opportunities,” Walden said. “We were up by five with three minutes left, but we missed some free throws and missed some assignments that put us in a bad position at the end of the game.”
The Pirates were led by sophomore Colton Antes, who averaged 13 points per game, and senior Dalton Trefil and junior Gregg Jones, who both averaged 12.5 points per game. Senior Nathan Davis added 7.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game, while junior Talon Hyde and sophomore Jake Litwiller both added six points and six rebounds per game.
Trefil earned honorable-mention all-state honors this year. Trefil and Antes also earned first-team all-conference honors. Davis and Jones both earned second-team all-conference honors, while Hyde was honorable-mention all-conference.
With players like Antes, Jones, Hyde, and Litwiller returning, the future is bright for the Pirates.
“Obviously, we are going to miss the seniors,” Walden said. “We do have a great group of young men coming back. We have four key guys coming back and a lot of offense coming back. Our junior varsity team also went 16-4 or 15-5 this year. We have 10 kids coming back from this year’s team, so we are excited about next year. Some of the guys have already started playing spring AAU basketball.”