Triton Trojans Win Again
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
By Anthony Gadson-agadson@timesuniononline.com
After graduating four starters from last year's Class 1A state championship team, the Trojans don't seem to have lost anything.[[In-content Ad]]Following a 62-47 victory at NorthWood High School Friday, the Trojans are now 3-0 for only the fifth time in school history, and only the second time in 37 years.
"We've got a good basketball team," Triton coach Jason Groves said. "These kids have been waiting patiently for their time, and they're definitely stepping up. It shows we had some depth last year. These kids are really responding."
To this point, the Trojans have gone through Oregon-Davis, Plymouth and NorthWood, winning by an average of 22 points a game.
"Triton played a very good basketball game," NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe said. "They made open shots. They took advantage of some of our mistakes."
Playing their first game of the year, the Panthers looked sluggish at times.
"I think conditioning played a factor in tonight's outcome," Wolfe said.
Coming out hot, the Trojans were 8 of 14 from the field in the first quarter, including 3 of 5 from three-point land, taking a 19-12 lead at the end of one.
Despite being the Panthers outscored in the first quarter, NorthWood senior Skyler Titus held his own, hitting three of the four three-pointers he shot in the first eight minutes, as he finished the night with a game-high 30 points.
"We had some good plays, and an outstanding performance by Skyler Titus," Wolfe said about the post player who also hauled in 12 rebounds. "There's some things we can build around."
After guiding the NorthWood football team to semistate just two weeks ago, Titus is still trying to get into basketball shape, but that didn't help the Trojans stop him.
"Early on, we had Joel (Meister) guard him, to use his athleticism," Groves said. "He's strong, so when he gets inside, it's hard to stop him. Give the kid a lot of credit."
While Titus was hurting the Trojans, he was the only Panther to do so. Outside of Titus' scoring output, the Panthers next leading scorer was sophomore Michael Paul, who netted seven points.
In contrast, the Trojans were led by sophomore sharp shooter Griffyn Carpenter's 21 points, followed by Meister's 12 and senior Colton Keel's 12.
On top of his 12 points, Keel also hauled in six rebounds, doing so without even playing in the second quarter after picking up his second foul with 1:25 remaining in the first quarter.
"If they cut the lead a little bit, I was going to go back with Colton, but our kids did a nice job," Groves said of having Keel on the bench.
Groves had the luxury of keeping Keel on the bench, thanks to a team effort.
Playing as a role player last year, Meister stepped his game up as a senior.
On top of drawing the assignment of guarding the much thicker Titus, Meister did post three steals and scored most of his points driving to the basket.
"Joel's a slasher," Groves said. "He's going to get to the bucket. He's got some good quickness, long arms and is a great defender. He did a nice job of getting to the bucket and getting some cheap baskets when we needed it."
After trailing 9-7 midway through the first quarter, the Trojans quickly retook the lead and never let it go. So instead of needing points, Triton mostly needed to take care of the ball, which junior point guard Ben Montalbano did.
"Ben Montalbano played a heck of a game," Groves said of the 5-foot-8 guard with a game-high seven assists.
While Groves was pleased with his entire team, including the defensive work of senior reserve Zac Moriarty on Titus, Wolfe is still looking for his squad to find its footing.
"It's a disappointing game for us," he said.
"Our goals are still intact," he added. "One of them is to improveme, and continue to improve over the course of the season."
The Trojans' first home game of the year is Tuesday against North Miami, when the junior varsity tips off at 6 p.m.
TRITON 62, NORTHWOOD 47
T 19 9 11 23 - 62
N 12 9 6 20 - 47
Triton - Ben Montalbano 1 0-2 3, Joel Meister 5 2-3 12, Cody Carpenter 1 0-0 3, Griffyn Carpenter 8 1-2 21, Colton Keel 4 4-8 12, Dustin Kreft 0 0-0 0, Austin Davis 1 1-2 3, Kreig Voreis 0 0-0 0, Jordan Everett 0 0-0 0, Zac Moriarty 3 2-2 8. Totals 23 10-19 62.
NW - Micah Horner 3 0-0 6, Brandon Williams 1 0-0 2, Skyler Titus 7 13-17 30, Michael Paul 3 0-0 7, Cameron Williams 1 0-0 2, Kyle Heckaman 0 0-0 0, Tony Miranda 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 13-17 47.
Three-point goals - Triton 6 (G. Carpenter 4, Montalbano, C. Carpenter), N-Wood 4 (Titus 3, Paul). Turnovers - Triton 13, N-Wood 18. Team Fouls - Triton 14, N-Wood 15. Rebounds - Triton 30 (Keel 6, G. Carpenter 5, Meister 4). N-Wood 27 (Titus 12, C. Williams 6). Assists - Triton 15 (Montalbano 7), N-Wood 5 (Horner 2, Titus 2). Blocks - Triton 2, N-Wood 1. Steals - Triton 9 (Meister 3), N-Wood 5 (Titus 2). Records: Triton 3-0, N-Wood 0-1
After graduating four starters from last year's Class 1A state championship team, the Trojans don't seem to have lost anything.[[In-content Ad]]Following a 62-47 victory at NorthWood High School Friday, the Trojans are now 3-0 for only the fifth time in school history, and only the second time in 37 years.
"We've got a good basketball team," Triton coach Jason Groves said. "These kids have been waiting patiently for their time, and they're definitely stepping up. It shows we had some depth last year. These kids are really responding."
To this point, the Trojans have gone through Oregon-Davis, Plymouth and NorthWood, winning by an average of 22 points a game.
"Triton played a very good basketball game," NorthWood coach Aaron Wolfe said. "They made open shots. They took advantage of some of our mistakes."
Playing their first game of the year, the Panthers looked sluggish at times.
"I think conditioning played a factor in tonight's outcome," Wolfe said.
Coming out hot, the Trojans were 8 of 14 from the field in the first quarter, including 3 of 5 from three-point land, taking a 19-12 lead at the end of one.
Despite being the Panthers outscored in the first quarter, NorthWood senior Skyler Titus held his own, hitting three of the four three-pointers he shot in the first eight minutes, as he finished the night with a game-high 30 points.
"We had some good plays, and an outstanding performance by Skyler Titus," Wolfe said about the post player who also hauled in 12 rebounds. "There's some things we can build around."
After guiding the NorthWood football team to semistate just two weeks ago, Titus is still trying to get into basketball shape, but that didn't help the Trojans stop him.
"Early on, we had Joel (Meister) guard him, to use his athleticism," Groves said. "He's strong, so when he gets inside, it's hard to stop him. Give the kid a lot of credit."
While Titus was hurting the Trojans, he was the only Panther to do so. Outside of Titus' scoring output, the Panthers next leading scorer was sophomore Michael Paul, who netted seven points.
In contrast, the Trojans were led by sophomore sharp shooter Griffyn Carpenter's 21 points, followed by Meister's 12 and senior Colton Keel's 12.
On top of his 12 points, Keel also hauled in six rebounds, doing so without even playing in the second quarter after picking up his second foul with 1:25 remaining in the first quarter.
"If they cut the lead a little bit, I was going to go back with Colton, but our kids did a nice job," Groves said of having Keel on the bench.
Groves had the luxury of keeping Keel on the bench, thanks to a team effort.
Playing as a role player last year, Meister stepped his game up as a senior.
On top of drawing the assignment of guarding the much thicker Titus, Meister did post three steals and scored most of his points driving to the basket.
"Joel's a slasher," Groves said. "He's going to get to the bucket. He's got some good quickness, long arms and is a great defender. He did a nice job of getting to the bucket and getting some cheap baskets when we needed it."
After trailing 9-7 midway through the first quarter, the Trojans quickly retook the lead and never let it go. So instead of needing points, Triton mostly needed to take care of the ball, which junior point guard Ben Montalbano did.
"Ben Montalbano played a heck of a game," Groves said of the 5-foot-8 guard with a game-high seven assists.
While Groves was pleased with his entire team, including the defensive work of senior reserve Zac Moriarty on Titus, Wolfe is still looking for his squad to find its footing.
"It's a disappointing game for us," he said.
"Our goals are still intact," he added. "One of them is to improveme, and continue to improve over the course of the season."
The Trojans' first home game of the year is Tuesday against North Miami, when the junior varsity tips off at 6 p.m.
TRITON 62, NORTHWOOD 47
T 19 9 11 23 - 62
N 12 9 6 20 - 47
Triton - Ben Montalbano 1 0-2 3, Joel Meister 5 2-3 12, Cody Carpenter 1 0-0 3, Griffyn Carpenter 8 1-2 21, Colton Keel 4 4-8 12, Dustin Kreft 0 0-0 0, Austin Davis 1 1-2 3, Kreig Voreis 0 0-0 0, Jordan Everett 0 0-0 0, Zac Moriarty 3 2-2 8. Totals 23 10-19 62.
NW - Micah Horner 3 0-0 6, Brandon Williams 1 0-0 2, Skyler Titus 7 13-17 30, Michael Paul 3 0-0 7, Cameron Williams 1 0-0 2, Kyle Heckaman 0 0-0 0, Tony Miranda 0 0-0 0. Totals 15 13-17 47.
Three-point goals - Triton 6 (G. Carpenter 4, Montalbano, C. Carpenter), N-Wood 4 (Titus 3, Paul). Turnovers - Triton 13, N-Wood 18. Team Fouls - Triton 14, N-Wood 15. Rebounds - Triton 30 (Keel 6, G. Carpenter 5, Meister 4). N-Wood 27 (Titus 12, C. Williams 6). Assists - Triton 15 (Montalbano 7), N-Wood 5 (Horner 2, Titus 2). Blocks - Triton 2, N-Wood 1. Steals - Triton 9 (Meister 3), N-Wood 5 (Titus 2). Records: Triton 3-0, N-Wood 0-1
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