Triton Going To State
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
With the Trojans trailing 51-50 to Lafayette Central Catholic at Saturday's Lafayette Jefferson Semistate, junior Colton Keel sent the Trojans into this Saturday's 10:30 a.m. Class A state championship game with a rebounded putback with three seconds remaining. The shot gave Triton a 52-51 lead, propelling it into this weekend's game at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.[[In-content Ad]]In the state championship game, third-ranked Triton (24-2) will face 10th-ranked Indianapolis Lutheran (22-4), a 59-41 winner over Borden at the Southport Semistate.
"We actually had a play going to him, with the baseline penetration and a wrap-around pass to (Keel)," Triton coach Jason Groves said of his team's offensive set coming out of a timeout with 9.6 seconds remaining. "So we knew he was going to be in that area, but A.J. (Harrison) just got an open look and went up with it."
Following Harrison's miss from the left side of the lane, Keel found himself all alone for the easy putback on the right side of the rim.
"He's a great offensive rebounder," Harrison said of Keel, who finished with a game-high 18 points and nine boards. "He was in the right place at the right time."
After leading throughout the entire fourth quarter, Triton had just lost its lead with 20 seconds remaining, when LCC senior Daniel Mills hit a jumper. The Mills bucket seemed to suck the enthusiasm out of the Trojan faithful, but it was quickly restored after the Keel basket.
"When Colton hit that last shot, it was deafening out there," Triton senior Jake Everett said. "I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't hear the whistle when the referee blew it for (Central Catholic's) timeout. It was crazy."
LCC did have the ball with 2.9 seconds remaining, but a desperation three-pointer by Jade Anthrop bounced off the rim, sending the Triton coaches and players into a frenzy.
"We all know it came down to one rebound, and we didn't get it. There's no reason to harp on it," LCC coach Dave Barrett said about his message to his players afterwards.
"The last thing I said (coming out of the timeout with 9.6 seconds remaining) was box out and get that rebound," he added. "We didn't do it."
Boxing Keel out has been a good idea in theory, but the application of the notion has been more difficult.
Along with the rebounded shot at the end of the game, Keel also hit a buzzer-beating putback to close the first half off a Troy McIntyre miss. And just a week ago, Keel put the Trojans into the regional championship game with a game-winning putback against Morgan Township in the regional semifinal at Triton High School.
"I thought, 'Oh my gosh, again?'," Keel said about his initial reaction to hitting his second game-winning shot in a week. "It's an awesome feeling though. These seniors, they deserve everything, and I'm going to do all I can to get them all the way."
Groves also had a feeling of deja vous, but he wasn't surprised.
"That was a great second-chance effort," the Triton coach said. "And that's what it is - effort. That's why I'm not surprised he got it, because he puts in the effort everyday."
His effort, and the effort of all the Trojans have the team in the state championship for the first time in school history.
"This is just unbelievable," Groves said. "I can't even explain it. It's something you dream about, as a player - your whole life. As a kid, and now as a coach, the same thing. These kids, though, they deserve this. They've worked so hard for this."
All that work was needed to defeat LCC, which was viewed by many as the favorite to win state this year. Just a year ago, LCC had its season come to a close on the same Lafayette Jefferson court, bowing out to eventual state champion Oregon-Davis at semistate. Coincidentally, that O-D team was the same squad that ended Triton's postseason run in the sectional championship.
"They're a good ballclub," Barrett said of Triton. "They wouldn't be where they're at if they weren't. Their solid up front, with the three big guys (Everett, Keel and McInytre). They're just good. It was a good game."
Along with Keel's performance, Triton also got 12 points out of McIntyre, eight points and five assists from Harrison and eight points and five boards out of Everett, who had limited minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.
"Those guys really picked me up when I got into foul trouble," Everett, who picked up his third foul with 1:08 left in the first half, said. "They stepped up big time."
And the whole team was needed to contain LCC's strong offensive unit, which has averaged 71 points a game this year. Mills finished with 16 points and junior guard Dru Anthrop had 13 points, but the Trojans limited the supporting cast.
"They've shot close to 500 free throws on the season," Groves said. "So one of our focuses was to keep them off the free throw line, and not fouling them. Just make them shoot and box them out. Our kids did a pretty decent job of doing that."
Another thing the Trojans had to do was keep their composure in the biggest game of their careers. Luckily for them, they had a bit of a prophet tell his team what would happen at the end of the contest, easing the tension in the last moments.
"I told the guys before the game, 'It's going to come down to a last-second shot.'" Everett said. "And it did. When we were up in the fourth quarter, I was telling our guys, 'Eight minutes left. Eight minutes to finish, and we're going to state.'"
Now that Triton is in the title game, it's finally okay for them to look forward to it. In recent weeks, a state title could be thought of, but not spoken aloud, with the common cliché of "one game at a time" being said. Now, that next game is the state championship game.
"State's always been out there," Keel said. "Now that it's just one week away, it's becoming a reality."
The reality is that Triton is in the state championship, but aren't state champions - yet.
"This is just one of the steps in our process," Groves said. "We haven't won the state championship yet. We have one more to go.
"They expect to win every game they go in to," he added. "I don't care if it's for a state title or a chance to go to the state title. These kids expect to win every game they go in to. They'll be ready to play."
TRITON 52, LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC 51
(Lafayette Jefferson Semistate)
T 13 12 16 11 - 52
LCC 14 11 16 11 - 51
Triton - McIntyre 6-10 0-0 12, Harrison 3-9 2-2 8, Christian 1-2 0-0 3, Everett 2-4 3-3 8, Keel 8-10 2-2 18, Davis 0-3 0-1 0, Meister 0-0 0-0 0, G. Carpenter 1-4 0-0 3, Moriarty 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-42 7-8 52.
LCC - D. Anthrop 3-6 6-6 13, Richeson 0-2 3-4 3, J. Anthrop 2-9 0-0 5, D. Mills 8-16 0-0 16, Loepker 1-2 3-6 5, Zak 0-0 0-0 0, Svenstrup 3-5 0-0 6, C. Mills 1-1 0-0 3, Kendrick 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-42 12-16 51.
3-point goals - Triton 3-11 (Christian, Everett, G. Carpenter), LCC 3-9 (D. Anthrop, J. Anthrop, C. Mills). Team Fouls - Triton 13, LCC 14. Turnovers - Triton 14, LCC 10. Rebounds - Triton 20 (Keel 9, Everett 5), LCC 16 (Loepker, Svenstrup). Steals - Triton 1, LCC 5 (D. Anthrop 2, J. Anthrop 2). Blocks - Triton 0, LCC 0. Assists - Triton 9 (Harrison 5, McIntyre 3), LCC 9 (J. Anthrop 4, D. Anthrop 3). Records - Triton 24-2, LCC 20-6.
With the Trojans trailing 51-50 to Lafayette Central Catholic at Saturday's Lafayette Jefferson Semistate, junior Colton Keel sent the Trojans into this Saturday's 10:30 a.m. Class A state championship game with a rebounded putback with three seconds remaining. The shot gave Triton a 52-51 lead, propelling it into this weekend's game at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis.[[In-content Ad]]In the state championship game, third-ranked Triton (24-2) will face 10th-ranked Indianapolis Lutheran (22-4), a 59-41 winner over Borden at the Southport Semistate.
"We actually had a play going to him, with the baseline penetration and a wrap-around pass to (Keel)," Triton coach Jason Groves said of his team's offensive set coming out of a timeout with 9.6 seconds remaining. "So we knew he was going to be in that area, but A.J. (Harrison) just got an open look and went up with it."
Following Harrison's miss from the left side of the lane, Keel found himself all alone for the easy putback on the right side of the rim.
"He's a great offensive rebounder," Harrison said of Keel, who finished with a game-high 18 points and nine boards. "He was in the right place at the right time."
After leading throughout the entire fourth quarter, Triton had just lost its lead with 20 seconds remaining, when LCC senior Daniel Mills hit a jumper. The Mills bucket seemed to suck the enthusiasm out of the Trojan faithful, but it was quickly restored after the Keel basket.
"When Colton hit that last shot, it was deafening out there," Triton senior Jake Everett said. "I couldn't hear anything. I couldn't hear the whistle when the referee blew it for (Central Catholic's) timeout. It was crazy."
LCC did have the ball with 2.9 seconds remaining, but a desperation three-pointer by Jade Anthrop bounced off the rim, sending the Triton coaches and players into a frenzy.
"We all know it came down to one rebound, and we didn't get it. There's no reason to harp on it," LCC coach Dave Barrett said about his message to his players afterwards.
"The last thing I said (coming out of the timeout with 9.6 seconds remaining) was box out and get that rebound," he added. "We didn't do it."
Boxing Keel out has been a good idea in theory, but the application of the notion has been more difficult.
Along with the rebounded shot at the end of the game, Keel also hit a buzzer-beating putback to close the first half off a Troy McIntyre miss. And just a week ago, Keel put the Trojans into the regional championship game with a game-winning putback against Morgan Township in the regional semifinal at Triton High School.
"I thought, 'Oh my gosh, again?'," Keel said about his initial reaction to hitting his second game-winning shot in a week. "It's an awesome feeling though. These seniors, they deserve everything, and I'm going to do all I can to get them all the way."
Groves also had a feeling of deja vous, but he wasn't surprised.
"That was a great second-chance effort," the Triton coach said. "And that's what it is - effort. That's why I'm not surprised he got it, because he puts in the effort everyday."
His effort, and the effort of all the Trojans have the team in the state championship for the first time in school history.
"This is just unbelievable," Groves said. "I can't even explain it. It's something you dream about, as a player - your whole life. As a kid, and now as a coach, the same thing. These kids, though, they deserve this. They've worked so hard for this."
All that work was needed to defeat LCC, which was viewed by many as the favorite to win state this year. Just a year ago, LCC had its season come to a close on the same Lafayette Jefferson court, bowing out to eventual state champion Oregon-Davis at semistate. Coincidentally, that O-D team was the same squad that ended Triton's postseason run in the sectional championship.
"They're a good ballclub," Barrett said of Triton. "They wouldn't be where they're at if they weren't. Their solid up front, with the three big guys (Everett, Keel and McInytre). They're just good. It was a good game."
Along with Keel's performance, Triton also got 12 points out of McIntyre, eight points and five assists from Harrison and eight points and five boards out of Everett, who had limited minutes in the first half due to foul trouble.
"Those guys really picked me up when I got into foul trouble," Everett, who picked up his third foul with 1:08 left in the first half, said. "They stepped up big time."
And the whole team was needed to contain LCC's strong offensive unit, which has averaged 71 points a game this year. Mills finished with 16 points and junior guard Dru Anthrop had 13 points, but the Trojans limited the supporting cast.
"They've shot close to 500 free throws on the season," Groves said. "So one of our focuses was to keep them off the free throw line, and not fouling them. Just make them shoot and box them out. Our kids did a pretty decent job of doing that."
Another thing the Trojans had to do was keep their composure in the biggest game of their careers. Luckily for them, they had a bit of a prophet tell his team what would happen at the end of the contest, easing the tension in the last moments.
"I told the guys before the game, 'It's going to come down to a last-second shot.'" Everett said. "And it did. When we were up in the fourth quarter, I was telling our guys, 'Eight minutes left. Eight minutes to finish, and we're going to state.'"
Now that Triton is in the title game, it's finally okay for them to look forward to it. In recent weeks, a state title could be thought of, but not spoken aloud, with the common cliché of "one game at a time" being said. Now, that next game is the state championship game.
"State's always been out there," Keel said. "Now that it's just one week away, it's becoming a reality."
The reality is that Triton is in the state championship, but aren't state champions - yet.
"This is just one of the steps in our process," Groves said. "We haven't won the state championship yet. We have one more to go.
"They expect to win every game they go in to," he added. "I don't care if it's for a state title or a chance to go to the state title. These kids expect to win every game they go in to. They'll be ready to play."
TRITON 52, LAFAYETTE CENTRAL CATHOLIC 51
(Lafayette Jefferson Semistate)
T 13 12 16 11 - 52
LCC 14 11 16 11 - 51
Triton - McIntyre 6-10 0-0 12, Harrison 3-9 2-2 8, Christian 1-2 0-0 3, Everett 2-4 3-3 8, Keel 8-10 2-2 18, Davis 0-3 0-1 0, Meister 0-0 0-0 0, G. Carpenter 1-4 0-0 3, Moriarty 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 21-42 7-8 52.
LCC - D. Anthrop 3-6 6-6 13, Richeson 0-2 3-4 3, J. Anthrop 2-9 0-0 5, D. Mills 8-16 0-0 16, Loepker 1-2 3-6 5, Zak 0-0 0-0 0, Svenstrup 3-5 0-0 6, C. Mills 1-1 0-0 3, Kendrick 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 18-42 12-16 51.
3-point goals - Triton 3-11 (Christian, Everett, G. Carpenter), LCC 3-9 (D. Anthrop, J. Anthrop, C. Mills). Team Fouls - Triton 13, LCC 14. Turnovers - Triton 14, LCC 10. Rebounds - Triton 20 (Keel 9, Everett 5), LCC 16 (Loepker, Svenstrup). Steals - Triton 1, LCC 5 (D. Anthrop 2, J. Anthrop 2). Blocks - Triton 0, LCC 0. Assists - Triton 9 (Harrison 5, McIntyre 3), LCC 9 (J. Anthrop 4, D. Anthrop 3). Records - Triton 24-2, LCC 20-6.
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