TRENTON – Trenton High boys basketball coach Darryl Young said before the Tornadoes’ season opener with Notre Dame Tuesday night that he “really likes this team this year.” Young said the key would be working hard and not letting up. The Tornadoes did that for about 22 minutes before having to fight off a spirited Irish comeback and surviving for a 55-50 victory at the Alley. It was the season’s first loss for ND (2-1), which sliced a 23-point second-quarter deficit to two midway through the fourth quarter. “We felt like we had won the game and all that,” said junior guard Aivaye Ingram, who collected 12 points and nine rebounds. “We did let up a little bit. Once they started coming back we had to get it back. “We got our composure, kept going, just kept the lead and won the game.” Despite the fact Trenton has returned much of its roster from last year’s squad, it was still a learning experience for the Tornadoes. Trying to maintain a lead is something new for a nucleus that went 6-17 last season. “We were usually down last year,” Ingram said. Trenton managed to hang on behind the play of Qadir Dixon (18 points, 13 rebounds), Juan Sanchez (14 points), Thomas Munoz (9 points) and Ingram. Trenton could do no wrong at the outset, as it used vintage Tornado pressure defense and transition offense for a 20–4 lead after one quarter. The Irish did not get a basket until there were 43 seconds left in the period. Markeese Dowling, a 6-7 center, blocked three shots inside to make the Irish think twice about penetrating. “He did a lot down there, helping us out,” Ingram said. Trenton used a 9-2 burst at the start of the second quarter to open a 29-6 advantage, and it looked like a long night for the visitors. Notre Dame chipped away slightly to cut it to 35-16 at halftime but the Tornadoes appeared in firm control. It was 47-30 with three minutes remaining in the third quarter when ND’s defense stiffened and Will Foley went to work. The Irish’s leading scorer tallied 10 of his 23 points in a 16-1 run to bridge the third and fourth quarters. The Irish forced 10 second-half turnovers and pulled within 48-46 with under three minutes remaining. A Wyatt Moore steal gave ND a chance to tie or take the lead but the Irish were called for a charge. With Trenton hanging on for dear life, Dixon put back an Ingram miss to make it 50-46 with 2:36 remaining. “That was definitely big,” Ingram said. “We had to get our composure back. After that layup we got a little looser and kept the lead.” That seemed to take the steam out of the Irish comeback, as they would score just four points the rest of the way. Trenton got a break when Foley, who shot 6-for-10 in the second half, missed an open 3-pointer from the right side and Ingram drove the lane for a layup with 1:46 left. Sanchez rebounded a missed Irish shot and hit two foul shots with 1:17 left to make it 54-46. Foley hit a layup to cut it to six with 51 seconds left, but Trenton clamped down and did not allow a point until scant seconds remained. The win was a lot tougher than it had to be for Trenton, but they’ll take it. “I hope we go far, better than last season,” Ingram said. “Defense is definitely the key, and rebounding.” And learning how to play with a lead will also be pretty important. NOTRE DAME (50) Foley 9-3-23, Moore 2-1-5, Kamera 1-1-3, Gojaniuk 0-0-0, Ale 1-0-2, Gatete 3-3-10, Rancan 2-3-7. Totals: 18-11-50. TRENTON (55) Dixon 7-4-18, Munoz 3-2-9, Sanchez 5-4-14, Ingram 4-3-12, Dowling 0-0-0, Smith 1-0-2. Totals 20-13-55. Notre Dame (2-1) 4 12 22 12 Trenton (1-0) 20 15 12 8 – 55 3-point goals: Foley 2, Gatete (ND). Munoz, Ingram (TCHS)