Triton Suffers First Loss
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Dale [email protected]
The host Zebras, led by former Triton player Bruce Grimm Jr., responded to the Trojans' quick start and controlled the majority of the game, beating Class 1A's top-ranked team 55-42.[[In-content Ad]]"We came into the game 13-2 and now we're 14-2," said Rochester coach Rob Malchow. "Triton is 16-1, they're a good team, but we're a good team, too. The game was on our floor. We thought we should have won, and the kids went out and found a way to win."
The only remaining undefeated teams in the state are Class 4A's New Albany (19-0) and Carmel (16-0) and Class 2A's Bluffton (17-0).
"We got beat," said Triton coach Jason Groves. "We could look at is as a wake up call. It's disappointing we lost. I felt coming in we were the better team, we just weren't tonight."
Grimm, who played on Triton's varsity team as a freshman two years ago, scored a game-high 18 points, the majority of which came in the second half.
Triton's fans didn't treat Grimm as harsh as the University of Illinois' cheer section treated Indiana University player Eric Gordon, who verballed to Illinois before heading to Bloomington, but the Trojan faithful probably wasn't too upset Grimm's shot was a little off in the first half.
"Bruce is a smart kid," said Malchow when asked about his prized transfer playing his former team. "He puts things in perspective. That type of thing was probably more of an issue last year when he faced them for the first time. He can score points, but what makes him special is he can do so many other things."
And when Grimm's shot wasn't falling in the first half, teammate Kory Barnett's was.
The 6-foot-5 senior, who will attend Indiana University next season as a preferred walk-on for coach Kelvin Sampson, scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half, as the Zebras led 13-8 after the first quarter and 25-18 at halftime.
"Kory had a great second half at Wabash last Friday, I think tonight was an extension of that," said Malchow, whose team has won five consecutive games since an eight-point loss at Valley on Jan. 11. "He found a way to knock down some shots. He rebounded pretty well, too."
Barnett led Rochester with 10 rebounds.
Seniors Carter Walley and Mitch Bowers scored eight and seven points, respetively, for Rochester. Junior Brody Schoen contributed three points for the Zebras, while senior Brent Easterday scored two points.
Senior A.J. Harrison led Triton with 13 points, while junior Colton Keel added 11 points, senior Troy McIntyre scored eight points and seniors Bart Christian and Jake Everett scored five points each.
Both Everett and McIntyre fouled out, as the Trojans were whistled for 22 fouls to Rochester's 14.
"It's tough," Groves said of his players being saddled with foul trouble. "You have to adjust to the refs and the way they're going to call the game, we didn't do that tonight. Our leading scorer (Everett) was in foul trouble in the first quarter. We just need to play smarter."
Triton was just 3 of 5 at the free throw line, while the host Zebras were 20 of 24.
Grimm was 12 of 14 at the charity stripe, while Barnett converted 5 of 6 charity tosses.
The Trojans, in front of a near-capacity crowd, raced out to a 6-0 lead. The Zebras, however, responded with an 11-0 run and never trailed in the game again after that.
Bowers, who started Rochester's run with a four-point play, beat the buzzer with a three-pointer to give the Zebras a 36-24 leading heading into the fourth quarter.
Rochester led by as many as 15 points, 46-31, in the fourth quarter.
"They had a lot of kids step up," Groves said of Rochester. "They were more agressive than we were. A lot of loose balls went their way, that's just hustle and effort. They got more loose balls than us. They wanted to win."
The Trojans will have no time to feel sorry for themselves, as they hit the road again Friday to play another talented Class 3A team, Tippecanoe Valley.
"This is a good week for us," said Groves. "It's disapponting we lost, but these games (at Rochester and at Valley) will prepare us for the postseason."
ROCHESTER 55, TRITON 42
T 8 10 6 18 - 42
R 13 10 13 19 - 55
Triton - Davis 0 0-0 0, Montalbano 0 0-0 0, Meister 0 0-0 0, McIntyre 4 0-0 8, Carpenter 0 0-0 0, Harrison 5 2-3 13, Christian 2 0-0 5, Everett 2 0-0 5, Keel 5 1-2 11. Totals 18 3-5 42.
Rochester - Barnett 5 5-6 17, Grimm 3 12-14 18, Schoen 1 0-0 3, Lowe 0 0-0 0, Strem 0 0-0 0, Bowers 2 1-1 7, Walley 3 2-3 8, Easterday 1 0-0 2, Hoff 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 20-24 55.
3-point goals - Triton 3 (Harrison, Everett, Christian), Rochester 5 (Barnett 2, Bowers 2, Schoen). Fouls - Triton 22, Rochester 14. Fouled out - Everett, McIntyre.
JV - Rochester 63, Triton 32
The host Zebras, led by former Triton player Bruce Grimm Jr., responded to the Trojans' quick start and controlled the majority of the game, beating Class 1A's top-ranked team 55-42.[[In-content Ad]]"We came into the game 13-2 and now we're 14-2," said Rochester coach Rob Malchow. "Triton is 16-1, they're a good team, but we're a good team, too. The game was on our floor. We thought we should have won, and the kids went out and found a way to win."
The only remaining undefeated teams in the state are Class 4A's New Albany (19-0) and Carmel (16-0) and Class 2A's Bluffton (17-0).
"We got beat," said Triton coach Jason Groves. "We could look at is as a wake up call. It's disappointing we lost. I felt coming in we were the better team, we just weren't tonight."
Grimm, who played on Triton's varsity team as a freshman two years ago, scored a game-high 18 points, the majority of which came in the second half.
Triton's fans didn't treat Grimm as harsh as the University of Illinois' cheer section treated Indiana University player Eric Gordon, who verballed to Illinois before heading to Bloomington, but the Trojan faithful probably wasn't too upset Grimm's shot was a little off in the first half.
"Bruce is a smart kid," said Malchow when asked about his prized transfer playing his former team. "He puts things in perspective. That type of thing was probably more of an issue last year when he faced them for the first time. He can score points, but what makes him special is he can do so many other things."
And when Grimm's shot wasn't falling in the first half, teammate Kory Barnett's was.
The 6-foot-5 senior, who will attend Indiana University next season as a preferred walk-on for coach Kelvin Sampson, scored 13 of his 17 points in the first half, as the Zebras led 13-8 after the first quarter and 25-18 at halftime.
"Kory had a great second half at Wabash last Friday, I think tonight was an extension of that," said Malchow, whose team has won five consecutive games since an eight-point loss at Valley on Jan. 11. "He found a way to knock down some shots. He rebounded pretty well, too."
Barnett led Rochester with 10 rebounds.
Seniors Carter Walley and Mitch Bowers scored eight and seven points, respetively, for Rochester. Junior Brody Schoen contributed three points for the Zebras, while senior Brent Easterday scored two points.
Senior A.J. Harrison led Triton with 13 points, while junior Colton Keel added 11 points, senior Troy McIntyre scored eight points and seniors Bart Christian and Jake Everett scored five points each.
Both Everett and McIntyre fouled out, as the Trojans were whistled for 22 fouls to Rochester's 14.
"It's tough," Groves said of his players being saddled with foul trouble. "You have to adjust to the refs and the way they're going to call the game, we didn't do that tonight. Our leading scorer (Everett) was in foul trouble in the first quarter. We just need to play smarter."
Triton was just 3 of 5 at the free throw line, while the host Zebras were 20 of 24.
Grimm was 12 of 14 at the charity stripe, while Barnett converted 5 of 6 charity tosses.
The Trojans, in front of a near-capacity crowd, raced out to a 6-0 lead. The Zebras, however, responded with an 11-0 run and never trailed in the game again after that.
Bowers, who started Rochester's run with a four-point play, beat the buzzer with a three-pointer to give the Zebras a 36-24 leading heading into the fourth quarter.
Rochester led by as many as 15 points, 46-31, in the fourth quarter.
"They had a lot of kids step up," Groves said of Rochester. "They were more agressive than we were. A lot of loose balls went their way, that's just hustle and effort. They got more loose balls than us. They wanted to win."
The Trojans will have no time to feel sorry for themselves, as they hit the road again Friday to play another talented Class 3A team, Tippecanoe Valley.
"This is a good week for us," said Groves. "It's disapponting we lost, but these games (at Rochester and at Valley) will prepare us for the postseason."
ROCHESTER 55, TRITON 42
T 8 10 6 18 - 42
R 13 10 13 19 - 55
Triton - Davis 0 0-0 0, Montalbano 0 0-0 0, Meister 0 0-0 0, McIntyre 4 0-0 8, Carpenter 0 0-0 0, Harrison 5 2-3 13, Christian 2 0-0 5, Everett 2 0-0 5, Keel 5 1-2 11. Totals 18 3-5 42.
Rochester - Barnett 5 5-6 17, Grimm 3 12-14 18, Schoen 1 0-0 3, Lowe 0 0-0 0, Strem 0 0-0 0, Bowers 2 1-1 7, Walley 3 2-3 8, Easterday 1 0-0 2, Hoff 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 20-24 55.
3-point goals - Triton 3 (Harrison, Everett, Christian), Rochester 5 (Barnett 2, Bowers 2, Schoen). Fouls - Triton 22, Rochester 14. Fouled out - Everett, McIntyre.
JV - Rochester 63, Triton 32
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