MENDOTA – The halftime speech by the Mendota coaches sure had a positive impact on the players.

After a tight first half between Mendota and Hall, the Trojans took off like gangbusters in the third quarter and they ended up routing the Red Devils, 75-57, in a Three Rivers Conference varsity boys’ basketball game on Jan. 24 at the MHS gym.

The win upped Mendota’s records to 15-7 overall and 5-0 in league play.

The biggest lead by either team in the first half belonged to Hall, which held a six-point margin on two occasions. The Red Devils were up 18-16 after the opening stanza before the Trojans began heating up in the second period. Mendota took advantage of Hall fouls as it went to the charity stripe 12 times in the second quarter and converted 10 of them to take a 35-32 lead at intermission.

The third quarter proved to be the deciding factor in the contest as Mendota outscored Hall, 24-9, to take control. Cam Kelly and Dane Doyle scored back-to-back hoops to begin the second half to build the Trojan lead to seven (39-32). After a pair of Wyatt West free throws for Hall, Mendota’s Aden Tillman and West exchanged three-pointers.

Aden Tillman came back with another three-ball and Cole Tillman added a two-pointer to give Mendota its first double-figure lead of the night, 47-37. After Mark Cissell’s hoop for Hall cut the margin back to single-digits, the Trojans closed out the third period on a 12-2 run to widen the gap to 18 points (59-41) with eight minutes to play. Kelly and Doyle each dropped in three-pointers, while Cole Tillman added a pair of conventional baskets and Braiden Freeman capped of the quarter with a hoop.

The Red Devils got as close as 11 on two occasions in the fourth frame, the final time being 64-53 with 4:38 to go, but consecutive baskets by Alex Beetz and Cole Tillman made it 68-53, and then a conventional three-point play by Kelly and another two-pointer by Beetz sealed the deal.

Cole Tillman led four Trojans in double figures with 21 points. Kelly, who knocked down three shots from three-point land, was next with 15 points, followed by Doyle with 12 and Aden Tillman with 10.