Triton Boys Suffer First NSC Loss
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Sitting at 1-2 in the conference, the Cavaliers (8-3, 2-2 NSC) came out with a postseason mentality, handing the Triton Trojans (7-4, 2-1) their first conference setback in a 46-42 loss.
On top of fighting to stick around in the conference race, the Cavaliers were also fired up after three losses to Triton last season, including a 46-41 sectional loss in Bourbon, which extended Triton’s win streak to 16 games over Culver.
“It’s definitely a big game,” Culver coach Kyle Elliott said. “It’s been a focus. We lost to them three times last year, with one being a last-second shot at our place 57-56 (on Jan. 14). The kids still remember that. We have five seniors on this team, and that still stings.
“Our kids have wanted this pretty bad, and it’s been a focus of ours since that sectional loss last year,” he added. “We wanted to come back on their home floor and perform.”
Perform they did, shooting 17 of 30 for the game, 8 of 14 from behind the three-point arc.
“They played really well,” Triton coach Jason Groves said of the Cavs. “You have to give them a lot of credit. They executed and shot the ball really well tonight. They did what they needed to do to win.”
Opening the game by hitting its first three three-point attempts, Culver had its fan base in a frenzy, leading 14-13 after one quarter.
Triton seemed to gain some control in the second quarter, which was capped off by a three-pointer by junior Darren Harrell, that gave the home team a 25-22 lead going in to the half.
However, in the third quarter, Culver’s 6-foot-4 junior Trent Elliott hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the Cavs up 30-27 with 6:39 remaining in the quarter.
“We talked at half about coming out in the second half and making a statement, that we were there for real and we were here to win,” Kyle Elliott said. “Those two threes couldn’t have been better statements.”
The message was received, as Culver’s lead never grew beyond five points, but it also never vanished.
“It was just a complete team effort,” Kyle Elliott said. “We had a lot of kids contributing on both ends of the floor. They executed the game plan, and I couldn’t be any more proud of them.”
Trent Elliott led the Cavs with 17 points and four rebounds, followed by senior Collin Stevens’ 15 points and nine assists.
Stevens also made 4 of 7 three-point attempts, while Elliott and senior Kyle Vlach each went 2 of 2 from beyond the arc.
“We broke down their defense and had some nice dribble penetration, some nice ball reversals,” the Culver coach said about his team’s three-point shooting. “That’s what it takes. Kids stepping up and making plays if you’re going to beat a team like Triton.”
Along with Triton’s defense breaking down, Groves also saw the same thing happen to the offense.
“We didn’t execute down the stretch,” he said. “We weren’t doing things we usually do. I wasn’t quite sure what we were doing down the stretch, offensively.”
The last time Culver defeated Triton, Groves was a Triton assistant on the team that fell 61-58 on Dec. 23, 2004.
Despite the recent domination, the games have been close, and the two may meet again in the title game of the upcoming TCU Bi-County Tournament, as well as in the sectional.
“It’s a rivalry,” Groves said. “We played them three times last year, so we know each other inside and out. We can’t really execute our sets against these guys, because they know every one. That’s one difficult thing.”
Senior Clay Yeo had a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds in the loss, but Triton’s next leading scorer was junior Tanner Shepherd, who netted six.
“We just didn’t execute as a team,” Groves said. “It wasn’t just one person. It was all five people on the court. We would call something, and they didn’t know what they were doing. I can understand that from the younger kids, but from the kids that have been playing that long, I can’t understand it.”
Triton’s quest for its fourth-straight Bi-County Tournament title begins Tuesday at home against Argos (3-8).
“Bi-County is one of our goals, and we still have our goals that we can accomplish, conference included,” Groves said. “We’ll be ready for the Bi-County and get better.”
CULVER 46, TRITON 42
C 14 8 13 11 – 46
T 13 12 9 8 – 42
Culver – Kyle Vlach 2-3 2-2 8, Collin Stevens 5-9 1-2 15, Trent Elliott 7-10 1-2 17, Tucker Schultz 1-1 0-0 2, Micah Budzinski 2-4 0-1 4, Everett Krueger 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan Sanders 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-30 4-7 46.
Triton – Clay Yeo 10-17 1-4 23, Darren Harrell 1-4 0-0 3, Tanner Shepherd 2-5 2-2 6, Seth Glingle 1-1 0-0 2, Cody Shively 1-4 0-0 2, Joey Corder 1-4 0-0 3, Drew Mosson 0-1 0-0 0, Skyler Reichert 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 17-39 3-6 42.
Three-point goals – Culver 8-14 (Stevens 4, Elliott 2, Vlach 2), Triton 5-21 (Yeo 2, Corder, Harrell, Reichert); Team Fouls – Culver 11, Triton 12; Turnovers – Culver 6, Triton 7; Rebounds – Culver 16 (Elliott 4, Budzinski 4), Triton 24 (Yeo 9); Assists – Culver 14 (Stevens 9), Triton 10 (Harrell 4); Steals – Culver 5 (Budzinski 2), Triton 2; Blocks – Culver 0, Triton 1; Records: Culver 8-3 (2-2 NSC), Triton 7-4 (2-1 NSC)[[In-content Ad]]
Sitting at 1-2 in the conference, the Cavaliers (8-3, 2-2 NSC) came out with a postseason mentality, handing the Triton Trojans (7-4, 2-1) their first conference setback in a 46-42 loss.
On top of fighting to stick around in the conference race, the Cavaliers were also fired up after three losses to Triton last season, including a 46-41 sectional loss in Bourbon, which extended Triton’s win streak to 16 games over Culver.
“It’s definitely a big game,” Culver coach Kyle Elliott said. “It’s been a focus. We lost to them three times last year, with one being a last-second shot at our place 57-56 (on Jan. 14). The kids still remember that. We have five seniors on this team, and that still stings.
“Our kids have wanted this pretty bad, and it’s been a focus of ours since that sectional loss last year,” he added. “We wanted to come back on their home floor and perform.”
Perform they did, shooting 17 of 30 for the game, 8 of 14 from behind the three-point arc.
“They played really well,” Triton coach Jason Groves said of the Cavs. “You have to give them a lot of credit. They executed and shot the ball really well tonight. They did what they needed to do to win.”
Opening the game by hitting its first three three-point attempts, Culver had its fan base in a frenzy, leading 14-13 after one quarter.
Triton seemed to gain some control in the second quarter, which was capped off by a three-pointer by junior Darren Harrell, that gave the home team a 25-22 lead going in to the half.
However, in the third quarter, Culver’s 6-foot-4 junior Trent Elliott hit back-to-back three-pointers to put the Cavs up 30-27 with 6:39 remaining in the quarter.
“We talked at half about coming out in the second half and making a statement, that we were there for real and we were here to win,” Kyle Elliott said. “Those two threes couldn’t have been better statements.”
The message was received, as Culver’s lead never grew beyond five points, but it also never vanished.
“It was just a complete team effort,” Kyle Elliott said. “We had a lot of kids contributing on both ends of the floor. They executed the game plan, and I couldn’t be any more proud of them.”
Trent Elliott led the Cavs with 17 points and four rebounds, followed by senior Collin Stevens’ 15 points and nine assists.
Stevens also made 4 of 7 three-point attempts, while Elliott and senior Kyle Vlach each went 2 of 2 from beyond the arc.
“We broke down their defense and had some nice dribble penetration, some nice ball reversals,” the Culver coach said about his team’s three-point shooting. “That’s what it takes. Kids stepping up and making plays if you’re going to beat a team like Triton.”
Along with Triton’s defense breaking down, Groves also saw the same thing happen to the offense.
“We didn’t execute down the stretch,” he said. “We weren’t doing things we usually do. I wasn’t quite sure what we were doing down the stretch, offensively.”
The last time Culver defeated Triton, Groves was a Triton assistant on the team that fell 61-58 on Dec. 23, 2004.
Despite the recent domination, the games have been close, and the two may meet again in the title game of the upcoming TCU Bi-County Tournament, as well as in the sectional.
“It’s a rivalry,” Groves said. “We played them three times last year, so we know each other inside and out. We can’t really execute our sets against these guys, because they know every one. That’s one difficult thing.”
Senior Clay Yeo had a game-high 23 points and nine rebounds in the loss, but Triton’s next leading scorer was junior Tanner Shepherd, who netted six.
“We just didn’t execute as a team,” Groves said. “It wasn’t just one person. It was all five people on the court. We would call something, and they didn’t know what they were doing. I can understand that from the younger kids, but from the kids that have been playing that long, I can’t understand it.”
Triton’s quest for its fourth-straight Bi-County Tournament title begins Tuesday at home against Argos (3-8).
“Bi-County is one of our goals, and we still have our goals that we can accomplish, conference included,” Groves said. “We’ll be ready for the Bi-County and get better.”
CULVER 46, TRITON 42
C 14 8 13 11 – 46
T 13 12 9 8 – 42
Culver – Kyle Vlach 2-3 2-2 8, Collin Stevens 5-9 1-2 15, Trent Elliott 7-10 1-2 17, Tucker Schultz 1-1 0-0 2, Micah Budzinski 2-4 0-1 4, Everett Krueger 0-1 0-0 0, Jordan Sanders 0-2 0-0 0. Totals 17-30 4-7 46.
Triton – Clay Yeo 10-17 1-4 23, Darren Harrell 1-4 0-0 3, Tanner Shepherd 2-5 2-2 6, Seth Glingle 1-1 0-0 2, Cody Shively 1-4 0-0 2, Joey Corder 1-4 0-0 3, Drew Mosson 0-1 0-0 0, Skyler Reichert 1-3 0-0 3. Totals 17-39 3-6 42.
Three-point goals – Culver 8-14 (Stevens 4, Elliott 2, Vlach 2), Triton 5-21 (Yeo 2, Corder, Harrell, Reichert); Team Fouls – Culver 11, Triton 12; Turnovers – Culver 6, Triton 7; Rebounds – Culver 16 (Elliott 4, Budzinski 4), Triton 24 (Yeo 9); Assists – Culver 14 (Stevens 9), Triton 10 (Harrell 4); Steals – Culver 5 (Budzinski 2), Triton 2; Blocks – Culver 0, Triton 1; Records: Culver 8-3 (2-2 NSC), Triton 7-4 (2-1 NSC)[[In-content Ad]]
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