Triton Still Unbeaten
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony [email protected]
Prior to Friday's Northern State Conference game against the Class 2A, eighth-ranked Jimtown Jimmies, that Etna Green team was honored, then afterwards, the Trojans improved to 13-0 with a 47-34 victory.[[In-content Ad]]"They have a legitimate shot at (a) state (championship)," Jimtown coach Randy DeShone, a 2004 Class 2A champion coach, said of Triton. "They have to stay focused. They have some tough games coming up, but if they focus and play the way they played against us tonight, they're a legitimate 1A state contender."
The win over the Jimmies also leaves the second ranked team in Class A with a perfect 4-0 NSC record. Not since 1997 have the Trojans nabbed a conference title, the only other time being in 1991 when they shared it with Bremen. But even with the toughest team in the conference already beaten, Triton coach Jason Groves isn't looking too far ahead.
"We haven't won anything yet," Groves said. "We have some good teams in our conference. Bremen's playing really well, and we have to go there (Feb. 7). We have LaVille (Feb. 2), we have Knox (Feb. 22). We have some of the better teams in the conference still on our schedule. We defintely can't relax right now, just because we beat Jimtown. A lot of things can happen."
Against Jimtown, a lot of good things happened for the Trojans, including a four-point play by Jake Everett to open the game. Over the next four minutes, the Trojans also received three-pointers from A.J. Harrison and Bart Christian, the last putting the home team in front 12-3 with 3:49 remaining in the first quarter.
"We've been shooting the ball a lot better in the last couple of games," Groves said. "We wanted to dictate the tempo tonight."
After going up 12-3, Triton allowed Jimtown to roar back until the score was knotted at 14-14 midway through the second. But just as he did to open the game, Everett once again converted on a four-point play, drawing a foul while hitting a trey with 5:18 remaining in the half.
"That's why they're 13-0 and we're 10-4," DeShone said. "There's key times in games where we had to make plays in those losses, and we just haven't."
The conversion gave Triton a four-point lead, one it would maintain going into the second half up 24-20.
The third quarter saw Triton extend its lead, ending in a full-court pass from Troy McIntyre to Joel Meister, which ballooned the lead to 35-27 going into the fourth. The full-court, in-bounds pass wouldn't be the first time McIntyre picked up an easy assist breaking the Jimtown press, he did so again late in the fourth quarter, that time to Christian.
"Troy's a quarterback, so he sees the court well," Groves said of the Triton athlete. "He made some good passes, some good quarterback passes. Those were pretty big plays."
By the time he made the pass to Christian, the Trojan lead was already in double digits, and Triton fans were advising Jimtown's to "Warm up the bus."
"Their main players, outplayed our main players," DeShone said. "They outplayed us, and they deserve the game."
Defensively, Triton limited Jimtown's 6-foot-10 senior Derek Johnson to two points on 1-of-6 shooting, but classmate Aaron Griffey did put in 11 points before leaving the game late in the third quarter with a knee injury.
"We wanted to keep him away from the basket," Groves said of defending Johnson. "You can't front the guy, because they're so good at high-low and the lob, so we wanted to play behind him and use our strength to push him out. I thought our kids did a good job of that - keeping him 10 feet away from the basket."
While DeShone was looking to get his guys on track, pretty much any Trojan that entered the game did his job. Everett led the winning team with 10 points and four rebounds and McIntyre had a well-rounded game, scoring nine points to go with four rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. Harrison and Christian scored nine and eight points, respectively, with each shooting 3-for-6 on the night.
"Our seniors stepped up tonight," Groves said. "McIntyre, Everett, A.J. Harrison - Reggie Davis came in and gave us good minutes, as did Bart Christian."
Along with pitting two of the top NSC teams, Friday's contest also matched two of the top defensive teams in the state. Jimtown entered the contest allowing a state best 33 points per game, but Triton's defense isn't too shabby, allowing only 40 points, fourth-best in the state.
"I was really concerned about their defense,"Groves said. "I was hoping we could (score) into the 40s, high 40s, which we did tonight."
And they were able to score that much for simple reason, according to DeShone.
"I've never seen a 1A team that's so big," the Jimtown coach said. "They are legit."
Triton will once again look to legitimize the hype surrounding it Tuesday when Argos visits Bourbon at 6 p.m. The game will once again feature two defensive squads, as Argos enters the game allowing 38 points a game, trailing only Jimtown in the state.
TRITON 47, JIMTOWN 34
J 8 12 7 7 - 34
T 14 10 11 12 - 47
Jimtown - M. Landis 3 0-0 6, C. Landis 2 4-4 9, Byers 1 1-2 3, Griffey 5 1-2 11, Johnson 1 0-0 2, Cook 0 0-0 0, Abraham 0 0-0 0, Peterkin 0 0-0 0, Forgey 0 0-0 0, Ruben 1 0-0 3, Pirtle 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 6-8 34.
Triton - McIntyre 3 3-5 9, Harrison 3 2-4 9, Christian 3 0-0 8, Everett 3 2-2 10, Keel 2 0-0 4, Davis 1 0-1 3, Montalbano 0 0-0 0, Meister 2 0-0 4, C. Carpenter 0 0-0 0, Moriarty 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 7-12 47.
3-point goals - Jimtown 2-7 (C. Landis, Ruben), Triton 6-11 (Christian 2, Everett 2, Davis, Harrison). Team Fouls - Jimtown 16, Triton 9. Turnovers - Jimtown 13, Triton 11. Rebounds - Jimtown 15 (Johnson 6), Triton 19 (McIntyre 4, Everett 4). Steals - Jimtown 8 (M. Landis 3, C. Landis 2, Griffey 2), Triton 6 (Harrison 2). Blocks - Jimtown 3, Triton 3 (McIntyre 2). Assists - Jimtown 6 (C. Landis 3), Triton 9 (McIntyre 4, Keel 3). Records - Jimtown 10-4 (3-1 NSC), Triton 13-0 (4-0 NSC).
JV - Jimtown 37, Triton 31.
Prior to Friday's Northern State Conference game against the Class 2A, eighth-ranked Jimtown Jimmies, that Etna Green team was honored, then afterwards, the Trojans improved to 13-0 with a 47-34 victory.[[In-content Ad]]"They have a legitimate shot at (a) state (championship)," Jimtown coach Randy DeShone, a 2004 Class 2A champion coach, said of Triton. "They have to stay focused. They have some tough games coming up, but if they focus and play the way they played against us tonight, they're a legitimate 1A state contender."
The win over the Jimmies also leaves the second ranked team in Class A with a perfect 4-0 NSC record. Not since 1997 have the Trojans nabbed a conference title, the only other time being in 1991 when they shared it with Bremen. But even with the toughest team in the conference already beaten, Triton coach Jason Groves isn't looking too far ahead.
"We haven't won anything yet," Groves said. "We have some good teams in our conference. Bremen's playing really well, and we have to go there (Feb. 7). We have LaVille (Feb. 2), we have Knox (Feb. 22). We have some of the better teams in the conference still on our schedule. We defintely can't relax right now, just because we beat Jimtown. A lot of things can happen."
Against Jimtown, a lot of good things happened for the Trojans, including a four-point play by Jake Everett to open the game. Over the next four minutes, the Trojans also received three-pointers from A.J. Harrison and Bart Christian, the last putting the home team in front 12-3 with 3:49 remaining in the first quarter.
"We've been shooting the ball a lot better in the last couple of games," Groves said. "We wanted to dictate the tempo tonight."
After going up 12-3, Triton allowed Jimtown to roar back until the score was knotted at 14-14 midway through the second. But just as he did to open the game, Everett once again converted on a four-point play, drawing a foul while hitting a trey with 5:18 remaining in the half.
"That's why they're 13-0 and we're 10-4," DeShone said. "There's key times in games where we had to make plays in those losses, and we just haven't."
The conversion gave Triton a four-point lead, one it would maintain going into the second half up 24-20.
The third quarter saw Triton extend its lead, ending in a full-court pass from Troy McIntyre to Joel Meister, which ballooned the lead to 35-27 going into the fourth. The full-court, in-bounds pass wouldn't be the first time McIntyre picked up an easy assist breaking the Jimtown press, he did so again late in the fourth quarter, that time to Christian.
"Troy's a quarterback, so he sees the court well," Groves said of the Triton athlete. "He made some good passes, some good quarterback passes. Those were pretty big plays."
By the time he made the pass to Christian, the Trojan lead was already in double digits, and Triton fans were advising Jimtown's to "Warm up the bus."
"Their main players, outplayed our main players," DeShone said. "They outplayed us, and they deserve the game."
Defensively, Triton limited Jimtown's 6-foot-10 senior Derek Johnson to two points on 1-of-6 shooting, but classmate Aaron Griffey did put in 11 points before leaving the game late in the third quarter with a knee injury.
"We wanted to keep him away from the basket," Groves said of defending Johnson. "You can't front the guy, because they're so good at high-low and the lob, so we wanted to play behind him and use our strength to push him out. I thought our kids did a good job of that - keeping him 10 feet away from the basket."
While DeShone was looking to get his guys on track, pretty much any Trojan that entered the game did his job. Everett led the winning team with 10 points and four rebounds and McIntyre had a well-rounded game, scoring nine points to go with four rebounds, four assists, two blocks and a steal. Harrison and Christian scored nine and eight points, respectively, with each shooting 3-for-6 on the night.
"Our seniors stepped up tonight," Groves said. "McIntyre, Everett, A.J. Harrison - Reggie Davis came in and gave us good minutes, as did Bart Christian."
Along with pitting two of the top NSC teams, Friday's contest also matched two of the top defensive teams in the state. Jimtown entered the contest allowing a state best 33 points per game, but Triton's defense isn't too shabby, allowing only 40 points, fourth-best in the state.
"I was really concerned about their defense,"Groves said. "I was hoping we could (score) into the 40s, high 40s, which we did tonight."
And they were able to score that much for simple reason, according to DeShone.
"I've never seen a 1A team that's so big," the Jimtown coach said. "They are legit."
Triton will once again look to legitimize the hype surrounding it Tuesday when Argos visits Bourbon at 6 p.m. The game will once again feature two defensive squads, as Argos enters the game allowing 38 points a game, trailing only Jimtown in the state.
TRITON 47, JIMTOWN 34
J 8 12 7 7 - 34
T 14 10 11 12 - 47
Jimtown - M. Landis 3 0-0 6, C. Landis 2 4-4 9, Byers 1 1-2 3, Griffey 5 1-2 11, Johnson 1 0-0 2, Cook 0 0-0 0, Abraham 0 0-0 0, Peterkin 0 0-0 0, Forgey 0 0-0 0, Ruben 1 0-0 3, Pirtle 0 0-0 0. Totals 13 6-8 34.
Triton - McIntyre 3 3-5 9, Harrison 3 2-4 9, Christian 3 0-0 8, Everett 3 2-2 10, Keel 2 0-0 4, Davis 1 0-1 3, Montalbano 0 0-0 0, Meister 2 0-0 4, C. Carpenter 0 0-0 0, Moriarty 0 0-0 0. Totals 17 7-12 47.
3-point goals - Jimtown 2-7 (C. Landis, Ruben), Triton 6-11 (Christian 2, Everett 2, Davis, Harrison). Team Fouls - Jimtown 16, Triton 9. Turnovers - Jimtown 13, Triton 11. Rebounds - Jimtown 15 (Johnson 6), Triton 19 (McIntyre 4, Everett 4). Steals - Jimtown 8 (M. Landis 3, C. Landis 2, Griffey 2), Triton 6 (Harrison 2). Blocks - Jimtown 3, Triton 3 (McIntyre 2). Assists - Jimtown 6 (C. Landis 3), Triton 9 (McIntyre 4, Keel 3). Records - Jimtown 10-4 (3-1 NSC), Triton 13-0 (4-0 NSC).
JV - Jimtown 37, Triton 31.
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