Triton One Win Away From Sectional Crown
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
BOURBON -Ê"We've got one more game!"
That's what Triton coach Mike McBride kept repeating as his team exited the court after an exciting 70-65 win over Bremen Friday night. The celebration afterwards was similar to one reserved for sectional championships as fans screamed and players embraced.
Triton, now 13-9, nearly began the celebrations too early as they built a fourth quarter lead to 15 points. That lead quickly disappeared; with less 30 seconds left, the Lions were down only three points.
The Trojans' Daniel Kuhn unbounded the ball with 28.5 seconds left. He threw a full-court-length pass to a wide-open Brent Savill who made a strong move to the basket and converted to push the lead to 68-63 and essentially finish the game.
Both Kuhn and Savill saw extended playing time due to the injury of junior starter Kyle Bell. Bell, who was sidelined during different points of the season, suffered a knee injury in the first half and is doubtful for tonight's championship game.
The Trojans came out with guns blazing to start the game. Namely junior Todd Blackford. The lanky swingman was unstoppable from behind the arc and pretty much anywhere else he chose to shoot from. He opened up the game with three straight from downtown to keep his squad close to Bremen.
The Lions were too tough inside early for Triton, creating second-chance opportunities and creating opportunities down low.
"We aren't as strong as Bremen," said McBride after the game.
After Blackford's three-point barrage, the Trojans turned into "not ready for prime time players" during the evening's early game of two contests in Bourbon.
Triton's modus operandi is to play a game in runs. Well the entire second quarter was a run for the Trojans.
Blackford continued to hit from the floor. Whether it was driving baseline, shooting the three or turnaround jumpers off the glass, he couldn't be contained.
While the Bremen student section yelled, "Ball hog" every time he touched the ball, he seemed to score every time he touched the ball. His cause was aided by timely buckets from fellow juniors Josh Moore and Braxton Barton.
"When he's focused, he's tough," said McBride of Blackford's performance. "He was really ready for tonight and it showed. He had an all-around great game. It was his best game all year."
It showed to the tune of 33 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field and 11 rebounds on the night.
Blackford nearly outscored Bremen in the first half, 22-21. The contributions from his teammates gave Triton a 32-22 halftime lead.
It was more of the same in the third quarter as Blackford continued to score with clutch shots by others at different times. Barton hit a three-pointer to extend Triton's lead to 12 and send the crowd into hysteria with his dramatics after every basket.
"He really feeds off the crowd and they feed off of him," said McBride.
With Bell sidelined for the entire second half, seniors Bryan Watkins and Savill picked up the slack.
The solidly built forwards were a better match for Bremen's size and strength. The duo combined for four points and six rebounds, with Watkins handling the boarding and Savill the scoring.
The early goings of the fourth quarter looked to be a coronation for Triton as they built their lead to 15 after another Barton three-pointer.
That coronation quickly turned into a near train wreck.
The Lions awoke from their slumber and began gaining ground in the most effective way. They stopped the clock and got to the free throw line. They were 8 of 10 in the first part of the quarter, and after Jordan Leeper hit a three-pointer, the Lions were down by just five with plenty of time left.
It then became the Barton show as the guard scored 10 of his 21 points, mostly from the free throw line, from the Leeper bucket on to help Triton move on with the chance to clinch its first sectional title at home.
The fact that the Trojans let Bremen back into the game wasn't lost on McBride.
"We got lazy with our passes. We could have gotten tired. We lost concentration but give Bremen credit, they hit big shots at the end."
Bremen played like a team with eight seniors in that fourth quarter, putting up 32 points in a last-ditch effort.
Luckily for McBride and his team, it came up short, as the Trojans will be playing for the sectional crown.
After the game McBride, implored Triton fans to come out for the championship game.
"We really need everybody in the community to come out tomorrow night and support us."
Despite their opponent's record, McBride knows what he could be in for.
"I told our kids this is step two in a three-step process. We may have to shuffle around with Bell hurt and I don't want these kids to be satisfied with this win. We've worked too hard all season to celebrate now."
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Bourbon as the Trojans face off against North Judson.
TRITON 70, BREMEN 65
Triton 13 19 15 23 - 70
Bremen 14 8 11 32 - 65
Triton FG FT A S R Pts.
Wanemacher 2-7 4-9 5 1 5 8
Blackford 11-19 7-9 2 0 11 33
Bell 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0
Barton 4-5 9-10 0 3 3 21
Moore 2-3 0-0 2 0 5 4
Savill 2-2 0-0 1 0 1 4
Watkins 0-1 0-0 0 0 5 0
Kuhn 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0
Totals 21-39 20-28 11 4 30 70
Bremen FG FT A S R Pts.
Gramm 0-0 0-0 0 1 3 0
Hochstetler 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 0
Bryant 6-16 3-7 3 1 12 15
Neeley 3-11 4-5 1 0 4 11
Cunningham 2-6 0-2 1 2 6 4
Leeper 4-17 3-4 2 0 2 15
Yoder 6-10 4-6 1 2 1 20
Totals 21-62 14-24 9 6 29 65
Three point goals -ÊTriton 8-15 (Blackford 4-9, Barton 4-5, Kuhn 0-1) Bremen 9-28 (Leeper 4-13, Yoder 4-6, Neeley 1-6, Hochsteller 0-2, Bryant 0-1).
Turnovers - Triton 15 Bremen 11. Team Fouls -ÊTriton 20 Bremen 23. Fouled Out - Moore (Triton). Technical Fouls - None [[In-content Ad]]
BOURBON -Ê"We've got one more game!"
That's what Triton coach Mike McBride kept repeating as his team exited the court after an exciting 70-65 win over Bremen Friday night. The celebration afterwards was similar to one reserved for sectional championships as fans screamed and players embraced.
Triton, now 13-9, nearly began the celebrations too early as they built a fourth quarter lead to 15 points. That lead quickly disappeared; with less 30 seconds left, the Lions were down only three points.
The Trojans' Daniel Kuhn unbounded the ball with 28.5 seconds left. He threw a full-court-length pass to a wide-open Brent Savill who made a strong move to the basket and converted to push the lead to 68-63 and essentially finish the game.
Both Kuhn and Savill saw extended playing time due to the injury of junior starter Kyle Bell. Bell, who was sidelined during different points of the season, suffered a knee injury in the first half and is doubtful for tonight's championship game.
The Trojans came out with guns blazing to start the game. Namely junior Todd Blackford. The lanky swingman was unstoppable from behind the arc and pretty much anywhere else he chose to shoot from. He opened up the game with three straight from downtown to keep his squad close to Bremen.
The Lions were too tough inside early for Triton, creating second-chance opportunities and creating opportunities down low.
"We aren't as strong as Bremen," said McBride after the game.
After Blackford's three-point barrage, the Trojans turned into "not ready for prime time players" during the evening's early game of two contests in Bourbon.
Triton's modus operandi is to play a game in runs. Well the entire second quarter was a run for the Trojans.
Blackford continued to hit from the floor. Whether it was driving baseline, shooting the three or turnaround jumpers off the glass, he couldn't be contained.
While the Bremen student section yelled, "Ball hog" every time he touched the ball, he seemed to score every time he touched the ball. His cause was aided by timely buckets from fellow juniors Josh Moore and Braxton Barton.
"When he's focused, he's tough," said McBride of Blackford's performance. "He was really ready for tonight and it showed. He had an all-around great game. It was his best game all year."
It showed to the tune of 33 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field and 11 rebounds on the night.
Blackford nearly outscored Bremen in the first half, 22-21. The contributions from his teammates gave Triton a 32-22 halftime lead.
It was more of the same in the third quarter as Blackford continued to score with clutch shots by others at different times. Barton hit a three-pointer to extend Triton's lead to 12 and send the crowd into hysteria with his dramatics after every basket.
"He really feeds off the crowd and they feed off of him," said McBride.
With Bell sidelined for the entire second half, seniors Bryan Watkins and Savill picked up the slack.
The solidly built forwards were a better match for Bremen's size and strength. The duo combined for four points and six rebounds, with Watkins handling the boarding and Savill the scoring.
The early goings of the fourth quarter looked to be a coronation for Triton as they built their lead to 15 after another Barton three-pointer.
That coronation quickly turned into a near train wreck.
The Lions awoke from their slumber and began gaining ground in the most effective way. They stopped the clock and got to the free throw line. They were 8 of 10 in the first part of the quarter, and after Jordan Leeper hit a three-pointer, the Lions were down by just five with plenty of time left.
It then became the Barton show as the guard scored 10 of his 21 points, mostly from the free throw line, from the Leeper bucket on to help Triton move on with the chance to clinch its first sectional title at home.
The fact that the Trojans let Bremen back into the game wasn't lost on McBride.
"We got lazy with our passes. We could have gotten tired. We lost concentration but give Bremen credit, they hit big shots at the end."
Bremen played like a team with eight seniors in that fourth quarter, putting up 32 points in a last-ditch effort.
Luckily for McBride and his team, it came up short, as the Trojans will be playing for the sectional crown.
After the game McBride, implored Triton fans to come out for the championship game.
"We really need everybody in the community to come out tomorrow night and support us."
Despite their opponent's record, McBride knows what he could be in for.
"I told our kids this is step two in a three-step process. We may have to shuffle around with Bell hurt and I don't want these kids to be satisfied with this win. We've worked too hard all season to celebrate now."
Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m. tonight in Bourbon as the Trojans face off against North Judson.
TRITON 70, BREMEN 65
Triton 13 19 15 23 - 70
Bremen 14 8 11 32 - 65
Triton FG FT A S R Pts.
Wanemacher 2-7 4-9 5 1 5 8
Blackford 11-19 7-9 2 0 11 33
Bell 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0
Barton 4-5 9-10 0 3 3 21
Moore 2-3 0-0 2 0 5 4
Savill 2-2 0-0 1 0 1 4
Watkins 0-1 0-0 0 0 5 0
Kuhn 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0
Totals 21-39 20-28 11 4 30 70
Bremen FG FT A S R Pts.
Gramm 0-0 0-0 0 1 3 0
Hochstetler 0-2 0-0 1 0 1 0
Bryant 6-16 3-7 3 1 12 15
Neeley 3-11 4-5 1 0 4 11
Cunningham 2-6 0-2 1 2 6 4
Leeper 4-17 3-4 2 0 2 15
Yoder 6-10 4-6 1 2 1 20
Totals 21-62 14-24 9 6 29 65
Three point goals -ÊTriton 8-15 (Blackford 4-9, Barton 4-5, Kuhn 0-1) Bremen 9-28 (Leeper 4-13, Yoder 4-6, Neeley 1-6, Hochsteller 0-2, Bryant 0-1).
Turnovers - Triton 15 Bremen 11. Team Fouls -ÊTriton 20 Bremen 23. Fouled Out - Moore (Triton). Technical Fouls - None [[In-content Ad]]