Triton Falls To Glenn In Bi-County Tournament Championship
January 23, 2022 at 8:37 p.m.
Triton Falls To Glenn In Bi-County Tournament Championship
By Anthony Anderson-
The Trojans weren’t, and they didn’t.
The Class 3A No. 2-ranked Falcons, balanced on offense and ballistic on defense, outscored Triton 38-19 over the final three quarters of a 52-35 victory in Saturday night’s Bi-County Tournament boys high school basketball championship at LaVille’s Dale Cox Gymnasium.
Coach Travis Hannah’s team secured its record-tying fourth straight Bi-County title.
Senior and tourney MVP Silas Kaser scored 16 points and made three steals as Glenn improved to 15-0, surpassing the 1972-73 Falcons for best start in program history.
His fellow guards, senior Joe Delinski and junior Noah Dreibelbeis, also shone bright, collecting 13 points apiece, grabbing a combined 15 rebounds and in Dreibelbeis’ case making four steals.
Ashton Oviedo paced the Trojans with nine points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals, while fellow senior Tyson Yates added eight points and three steals.
Class 1A No. 7 Triton (9-3) was without Cole Shively for a second straight game due to contact tracing. Shively, a sophomore, is the Trojans’ No. 3 scorer at 11.5 points per game, No. 2 rebounder, No. 2 in field goal percentage and “probably our best defender and most physical player,” per coach Jason Groves.
Varsity backup Chandler Westafer was sidelined as well, leaving Triton at just six available players under IHSAA quarter-limit rules, because the Trojan junior varsity was playing two games of their own Saturday to wrap up that tourney.
“I knew this was going to be a really hard game for us to score,” said Groves, whose club lost for the second time in 16 days to the Falcons, the previous defeat coming by a 51-38 count at Glenn.
“They’re really strong defensively,” Groves said. “They’re bigger than us at about every position and stronger than us at every position. I told our kids we’re really going to have to set good screens, come off screens well, spread them out, try to get penetration. We were able to do that some, but not enough.”
Triton led 16-14 after one period, thanks in part to a flying, open-court block from behind by Caden Graham that set up Bruce Johnson for a 3-pointer at the other end just ahead of the quarter horn.
Yet, the momentum from that play never carried over.
The Trojans, after going 6-of-8 from the field in the first period, hit just 1-of-11 in the second, their only points of that quarter coming on a Cole McKinney triple just 1:12 before halftime.
“I thought defensively we were really good,” Hannah said. “Thirty-five points against a really good Triton team. That’s kind of been our calling card, stopping people on the defensive end, and I thought we did it tonight.”
Glenn took a 37-30 lead into the fourth quarter, then outscored the Trojans 15-2 over the first 6:47 of that period to pull away.
The Falcons dominated in second-chance points, 14-2, on their way to a 30-20 rebounding advantage. They also got to the line and were proficient once there, draining 15-of-17 to Triton’s 2-of-2.
The teams shot similar percentages from the field — 36% for Glenn and 37% for the Trojans — and Triton finished with two more treys (seven to the Falcons’ five), but the winners committed just 10 turnovers for a plus-seven edge there.
Now the busy Trojans must quickly move on.
One of three unbeatens left in the Hoosier North Athletic Conference at 2-0, Triton visits league opponent Winamac (6-6, 2-2) for a makeup game Monday, then hosts Elkhart Christian (8-3) Tuesday in what will be the Trojans’ fourth contest in five days.
“I told the kids the conference game has to become our focus now,” Groves said. “We can’t let this loss stew.”
Triton did notch one win before the game even began, with senior Connor Large named the winner of the tourney’s W.B. Hawkins Award on the boys side.
The honor is presented annually to one male and one female player from among nominees by the eight participating schools. Jolie Groves was Triton’s nominee on the girls side.
The Trojans weren’t, and they didn’t.
The Class 3A No. 2-ranked Falcons, balanced on offense and ballistic on defense, outscored Triton 38-19 over the final three quarters of a 52-35 victory in Saturday night’s Bi-County Tournament boys high school basketball championship at LaVille’s Dale Cox Gymnasium.
Coach Travis Hannah’s team secured its record-tying fourth straight Bi-County title.
Senior and tourney MVP Silas Kaser scored 16 points and made three steals as Glenn improved to 15-0, surpassing the 1972-73 Falcons for best start in program history.
His fellow guards, senior Joe Delinski and junior Noah Dreibelbeis, also shone bright, collecting 13 points apiece, grabbing a combined 15 rebounds and in Dreibelbeis’ case making four steals.
Ashton Oviedo paced the Trojans with nine points, five rebounds, five assists and three steals, while fellow senior Tyson Yates added eight points and three steals.
Class 1A No. 7 Triton (9-3) was without Cole Shively for a second straight game due to contact tracing. Shively, a sophomore, is the Trojans’ No. 3 scorer at 11.5 points per game, No. 2 rebounder, No. 2 in field goal percentage and “probably our best defender and most physical player,” per coach Jason Groves.
Varsity backup Chandler Westafer was sidelined as well, leaving Triton at just six available players under IHSAA quarter-limit rules, because the Trojan junior varsity was playing two games of their own Saturday to wrap up that tourney.
“I knew this was going to be a really hard game for us to score,” said Groves, whose club lost for the second time in 16 days to the Falcons, the previous defeat coming by a 51-38 count at Glenn.
“They’re really strong defensively,” Groves said. “They’re bigger than us at about every position and stronger than us at every position. I told our kids we’re really going to have to set good screens, come off screens well, spread them out, try to get penetration. We were able to do that some, but not enough.”
Triton led 16-14 after one period, thanks in part to a flying, open-court block from behind by Caden Graham that set up Bruce Johnson for a 3-pointer at the other end just ahead of the quarter horn.
Yet, the momentum from that play never carried over.
The Trojans, after going 6-of-8 from the field in the first period, hit just 1-of-11 in the second, their only points of that quarter coming on a Cole McKinney triple just 1:12 before halftime.
“I thought defensively we were really good,” Hannah said. “Thirty-five points against a really good Triton team. That’s kind of been our calling card, stopping people on the defensive end, and I thought we did it tonight.”
Glenn took a 37-30 lead into the fourth quarter, then outscored the Trojans 15-2 over the first 6:47 of that period to pull away.
The Falcons dominated in second-chance points, 14-2, on their way to a 30-20 rebounding advantage. They also got to the line and were proficient once there, draining 15-of-17 to Triton’s 2-of-2.
The teams shot similar percentages from the field — 36% for Glenn and 37% for the Trojans — and Triton finished with two more treys (seven to the Falcons’ five), but the winners committed just 10 turnovers for a plus-seven edge there.
Now the busy Trojans must quickly move on.
One of three unbeatens left in the Hoosier North Athletic Conference at 2-0, Triton visits league opponent Winamac (6-6, 2-2) for a makeup game Monday, then hosts Elkhart Christian (8-3) Tuesday in what will be the Trojans’ fourth contest in five days.
“I told the kids the conference game has to become our focus now,” Groves said. “We can’t let this loss stew.”
Triton did notch one win before the game even began, with senior Connor Large named the winner of the tourney’s W.B. Hawkins Award on the boys side.
The honor is presented annually to one male and one female player from among nominees by the eight participating schools. Jolie Groves was Triton’s nominee on the girls side.
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