Triton Wins In Bennett's Absence
July 28, 2016 at 4:25 p.m.
BOURBON - Heading into Saturday night's non-conference boys basketball game against Culver Military, the Triton Trojans were looking to get back on the winning track. After having played some inconsistent basketball over the past couple weeks, the Trojans were looking for something to get them going.
Heading into this weekend, Triton head coach Joe Bennett knew he may have to be away from his 4-5 club. The reason? His wife was expecting a baby. Well, just prior to Saturday's junior varsity, contest Bennett was called to the hospital while his wife was in labor. Another obstacle for the Trojans? Not really. Varsity assistant Darrell Gudeman just stuck with Bennett's game plan, and the Trojans held off a scrappy Eagles team 60-48.
"Coach Bennett has a solid way of running things," Gudeman said. "The kids just stuck to the game plan and we won the game."
The first half of play on both sides left a lot to be desired. Both teams played sloppy on both ends. There were 21 turnovers alone by both teams, Culver Military coughed it up 13 times, while Triton had eight miscues.
"I thought our our defense was outstanding," Gudeman said. "Our kids just had a lot of heart tonight and they wanted this game really bad."
In the first quarter, Culver Military took a 6-4 lead on a Casey Hanyzewski jumper from the right baseline. After a cold drought for the Eagles, Triton then exploded for the next six points to take a 10-6 lead after the first quarter. Brandon Zeider, who averages 20 points per game, hit two buckets in that 6-0 run to give the host team a little breathing room. Both teams were ice cold shooting the ball in the first quarter. Triton hit only 4 of 14 shots, while the Eagles only took seven shots, making three of them.
"We got off to a slow start," Gudeman said. "We really didn't come out mentally tough and focused to play, things were better in the second half."
Triton started the second quarter with another layup, again by Zeider, to up the lead to 12-6. Culver Military took advantage of Trojan mistakes as they crept back to tie the game at 12 on a rebound basket by Jeff Mbamala. The game went back and forth for most of the quarter. The first half ended on a buzzer beater by Zeider that put the Trojans up 18-13.
"In the first half we weren't fronting the post and that kept them in the game," Gudeman said.
In the second half it was all Triton. The Trojans extended their defense and made the Eagles pay again for their mistakes. After cutting the Trojan lead to 20-18 with 5:30 to go in the third quarter, the Trojans went on a 9-0 run to open the flood gates. The biggest play of the game, a dunk by Brian Klingerman, got the crowd and the Trojans fired up. That was the turning point of the game.
"I really thought the dunk by Klingerman really put a fire in us," Gudeman said.
Klingerman scored 10 of his 14 points in the third quarter. The Trojans led by 13, 40-27, after three quarters.
But the Trojans couldn't quite put the final dagger to the Eagles. After Zeider and Rob Salyer's back-to-back layups stretched the lead to 44-29, the Eagles tried to dip into the lead.
Culver Military Jackson Atoyebi kept the Eagles close. He dominated the fourth quarter, scoring 15 of his game-high 28 points. The Eagles got as close as nine points, 56-45, with 1:55 left in the game but too much Trojan offense kept the Eagles from claiming their fifth win.
"Our kids played really hard," Gudeman said. "I thought we played a good all-around game tonight. We just have to do the fundamental things correct and we will be fine."
Several Trojans had nice games. Austin Unterbrink, a 5-8 senior point guard, had a solid floor game. He scored only four points but dished out 12 assists on the night. Zeider led the attack with 17 points, including two three-pointers. Joey Potter also finished in double figures with 11.
"I thought Unterbrink had a great game," Gudeman said. "He didn't score a lot of points, but 12 assists was terrific."
The only other Eagle in double figures with Atoyebi was Cole Herr, who added 12.
Triton (5-5) hosts Bethany Christian Friday and Jimtown Saturday.
TRITON 60, CMA 48
CMA (3-4) 6 7 14 21 - 48
Triton (5-5) 10 8 22 20 - 60
CMA FG FT R A S Pts.
Hanyzewski (G) 2-6 0-1 2 4 0 4
Granger 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Cummings 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0
Schumerth 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Herr (G) 4-13 3-6 0 0 0 12
White 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Foreman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Crane 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
Fraction (F) 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 0
Atoyebi (C) 11-18 6-9 17 3 2 28
Mbamala (F) 2-2 0-1 7 0 0 4
Total 19-41 9-17 28 8 3 48
Triton FG FT R A S Pts.
Bell 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0
Unterbrink (G) 1-4 2-2 0 12 2 4
Blackford (G) 1-3 0-0 0 2 1 2
Burnett 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Salyer 2-3 2-2 3 1 2 6
Potter (F) 4-11 3-3 0 0 0 11
Zeider (F) 7-19 1-2 4 2 0 17
Sauer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Klingerman (C) 7-16 0-0 5 0 2 14
Read 2-3 0-0 2 0 0 4
Moore 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2
Totals 25-60 8-9 16 17 7 60
Three-pointers - CMA 1 (Herr), Triton 2 (Zeider 2). Turnovers - CMA 23, Triton 15. Fouls - CMA 15, Triton 16. Fouled out - Fraction, Zeider.
JV: Triton 43, CMA 27 [[In-content Ad]]
BOURBON - Heading into Saturday night's non-conference boys basketball game against Culver Military, the Triton Trojans were looking to get back on the winning track. After having played some inconsistent basketball over the past couple weeks, the Trojans were looking for something to get them going.
Heading into this weekend, Triton head coach Joe Bennett knew he may have to be away from his 4-5 club. The reason? His wife was expecting a baby. Well, just prior to Saturday's junior varsity, contest Bennett was called to the hospital while his wife was in labor. Another obstacle for the Trojans? Not really. Varsity assistant Darrell Gudeman just stuck with Bennett's game plan, and the Trojans held off a scrappy Eagles team 60-48.
"Coach Bennett has a solid way of running things," Gudeman said. "The kids just stuck to the game plan and we won the game."
The first half of play on both sides left a lot to be desired. Both teams played sloppy on both ends. There were 21 turnovers alone by both teams, Culver Military coughed it up 13 times, while Triton had eight miscues.
"I thought our our defense was outstanding," Gudeman said. "Our kids just had a lot of heart tonight and they wanted this game really bad."
In the first quarter, Culver Military took a 6-4 lead on a Casey Hanyzewski jumper from the right baseline. After a cold drought for the Eagles, Triton then exploded for the next six points to take a 10-6 lead after the first quarter. Brandon Zeider, who averages 20 points per game, hit two buckets in that 6-0 run to give the host team a little breathing room. Both teams were ice cold shooting the ball in the first quarter. Triton hit only 4 of 14 shots, while the Eagles only took seven shots, making three of them.
"We got off to a slow start," Gudeman said. "We really didn't come out mentally tough and focused to play, things were better in the second half."
Triton started the second quarter with another layup, again by Zeider, to up the lead to 12-6. Culver Military took advantage of Trojan mistakes as they crept back to tie the game at 12 on a rebound basket by Jeff Mbamala. The game went back and forth for most of the quarter. The first half ended on a buzzer beater by Zeider that put the Trojans up 18-13.
"In the first half we weren't fronting the post and that kept them in the game," Gudeman said.
In the second half it was all Triton. The Trojans extended their defense and made the Eagles pay again for their mistakes. After cutting the Trojan lead to 20-18 with 5:30 to go in the third quarter, the Trojans went on a 9-0 run to open the flood gates. The biggest play of the game, a dunk by Brian Klingerman, got the crowd and the Trojans fired up. That was the turning point of the game.
"I really thought the dunk by Klingerman really put a fire in us," Gudeman said.
Klingerman scored 10 of his 14 points in the third quarter. The Trojans led by 13, 40-27, after three quarters.
But the Trojans couldn't quite put the final dagger to the Eagles. After Zeider and Rob Salyer's back-to-back layups stretched the lead to 44-29, the Eagles tried to dip into the lead.
Culver Military Jackson Atoyebi kept the Eagles close. He dominated the fourth quarter, scoring 15 of his game-high 28 points. The Eagles got as close as nine points, 56-45, with 1:55 left in the game but too much Trojan offense kept the Eagles from claiming their fifth win.
"Our kids played really hard," Gudeman said. "I thought we played a good all-around game tonight. We just have to do the fundamental things correct and we will be fine."
Several Trojans had nice games. Austin Unterbrink, a 5-8 senior point guard, had a solid floor game. He scored only four points but dished out 12 assists on the night. Zeider led the attack with 17 points, including two three-pointers. Joey Potter also finished in double figures with 11.
"I thought Unterbrink had a great game," Gudeman said. "He didn't score a lot of points, but 12 assists was terrific."
The only other Eagle in double figures with Atoyebi was Cole Herr, who added 12.
Triton (5-5) hosts Bethany Christian Friday and Jimtown Saturday.
TRITON 60, CMA 48
CMA (3-4) 6 7 14 21 - 48
Triton (5-5) 10 8 22 20 - 60
CMA FG FT R A S Pts.
Hanyzewski (G) 2-6 0-1 2 4 0 4
Granger 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Cummings 0-1 0-0 1 0 0 0
Schumerth 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Herr (G) 4-13 3-6 0 0 0 12
White 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Foreman 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Crane 0-0 0-0 0 1 0 0
Fraction (F) 0-1 0-0 1 0 1 0
Atoyebi (C) 11-18 6-9 17 3 2 28
Mbamala (F) 2-2 0-1 7 0 0 4
Total 19-41 9-17 28 8 3 48
Triton FG FT R A S Pts.
Bell 0-0 0-0 2 0 0 0
Unterbrink (G) 1-4 2-2 0 12 2 4
Blackford (G) 1-3 0-0 0 2 1 2
Burnett 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Salyer 2-3 2-2 3 1 2 6
Potter (F) 4-11 3-3 0 0 0 11
Zeider (F) 7-19 1-2 4 2 0 17
Sauer 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Klingerman (C) 7-16 0-0 5 0 2 14
Read 2-3 0-0 2 0 0 4
Moore 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2
Totals 25-60 8-9 16 17 7 60
Three-pointers - CMA 1 (Herr), Triton 2 (Zeider 2). Turnovers - CMA 23, Triton 15. Fouls - CMA 15, Triton 16. Fouled out - Fraction, Zeider.
JV: Triton 43, CMA 27 [[In-content Ad]]