Triton Advances To Sectional Semifinal
February 28, 2019 at 4:14 a.m.
Triton Advances To Sectional Semifinal
By Aaron [email protected]
The Triton High School boys basketball team jumped out to an 11-0 lead and finished with a 49-31 home win over Elkhart Christian Tuesday in Class 1A Sectional 51.
“I felt like we’ve been gradually getting better as the year progressed, and hopefully tonight was getting over the top a little bit,” said Triton coach Jason Groves.
Jared Bules and Beau Hepler knocked down consecutive three-pointers early, and Ashton Oviedo sank a pair of free throws to give Triton a 8-0 lead.
He followed that up with a trey halfway through the first quarter that pushed the score to 11-0 in Triton’s favor and prompted an Elkhart Christian timeout.
“It’s nice when you defend and hit shots, and that’s what our guys did,” Groves said.
The timeout didn’t help Elkhart Christian much, as the Trojans carried a 14-5 lead into the second quarter and held a 23-14 advantage at halftime.
The Trojans turned over the ball just three times in the first quarter, a far cry from their turnover-prone play earlier in the season.
“Part of it is just focus and executing, and trusting what we do and trusting in each other,” Groves said.
The Trojans started the third quarter strong, with a three-pointer by Hepler extending their lead to double digits.
Elkhart Christian cut the advantage to eight on Desmond Wilkins-Maxwell’s bucket late in the third quarter, but that’s as close as the Eagles got.
Triton hit three straight treys to start the fourth quarter and comfortably rode its lead to victory.
“(The Eagles) tried to trap a little bit, we got some open looks, and our guys knocked them down,” Groves said.
Hepler led Triton with 15 points, while Bules had 10 points.
The Trojans finished 9 of 17 from beyond the three-point arc.
Wilkins-Maxwell scored a team-high 10 points for the Eagles.
The Trojans (9-14) came into the year inexperienced, and battled injuries throughout the season.
However, Groves noted how at ease they looked Wednesday.
“That’s what I told them after the game, was that this is probably the most confident, comfortable I’ve seen you guys play,” Groves said.
South Central (4-18) won 37-36 over South Bend Career Academy in Wednesday’s first game. The Trojans and Satellites will face off Friday in a sectional semifinal.
“They’re scrappy,” Groves said of the Satellites. “They’re better than what their record indicates, that’s for sure.”
TRITON 49,
ELKHART CHRISTIAN 31
EC 5 9 10 7 – 31
T 14 9 12 14 – 49
Elkhart Christian – Bryce Coursen 0-11 0-0 0, Jackson Klahr 2-4 0-0 5, Charlie Maxwell 1-5 0-2 2, Bryce Schrock 0-0 2-2 2, Michael Cox 0-0 1-2 1, Joe Ndaiga 3-11 3-4 9, Desmond Wilkins-Maxwell 3-7 2-2 10, Noah Hunt 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Burns 1-8 0-0 2, Totals 10-46 8-12 31.
Triton – Chase Butler 1-1 0-0 2, Tyson Yates 0-0 0-0 0, Tye Orsund 2-6 3-4 8, Jared Bules 3-4 1-2 10, Beau Hepler 5-8 2-3 15, Ashton Oviedo 2-6 2-2 8, Kaden Atkins 0-0 0-0 0, Quentin Amsden 0-2 0-0 0, Lucas Richman 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Heckaman 1-1 0-0 2, Keegan Westafer 1-3 2-2 4, Bruce Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 15-32 10-13 49.
Three-pointers – Elkhart Christian 3 (Wilkins-Maxwell 2, Klahr 1), Triton 9 (Bules 3, Hepler 3, Oviedo 2, Orsund 1); Rebounding – Elkhart Christian 35 (Burns 6), Triton 22 (Orsund 4, Westafer 4); Turnovers – Elkhart Christian 14, Triton 12; Fouls – Elkhart Christian 12, Triton 16; Fouled out – Schrock 5; Records: Elkhart Christian 9-14, Triton 9-14.
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The Triton High School boys basketball team jumped out to an 11-0 lead and finished with a 49-31 home win over Elkhart Christian Tuesday in Class 1A Sectional 51.
“I felt like we’ve been gradually getting better as the year progressed, and hopefully tonight was getting over the top a little bit,” said Triton coach Jason Groves.
Jared Bules and Beau Hepler knocked down consecutive three-pointers early, and Ashton Oviedo sank a pair of free throws to give Triton a 8-0 lead.
He followed that up with a trey halfway through the first quarter that pushed the score to 11-0 in Triton’s favor and prompted an Elkhart Christian timeout.
“It’s nice when you defend and hit shots, and that’s what our guys did,” Groves said.
The timeout didn’t help Elkhart Christian much, as the Trojans carried a 14-5 lead into the second quarter and held a 23-14 advantage at halftime.
The Trojans turned over the ball just three times in the first quarter, a far cry from their turnover-prone play earlier in the season.
“Part of it is just focus and executing, and trusting what we do and trusting in each other,” Groves said.
The Trojans started the third quarter strong, with a three-pointer by Hepler extending their lead to double digits.
Elkhart Christian cut the advantage to eight on Desmond Wilkins-Maxwell’s bucket late in the third quarter, but that’s as close as the Eagles got.
Triton hit three straight treys to start the fourth quarter and comfortably rode its lead to victory.
“(The Eagles) tried to trap a little bit, we got some open looks, and our guys knocked them down,” Groves said.
Hepler led Triton with 15 points, while Bules had 10 points.
The Trojans finished 9 of 17 from beyond the three-point arc.
Wilkins-Maxwell scored a team-high 10 points for the Eagles.
The Trojans (9-14) came into the year inexperienced, and battled injuries throughout the season.
However, Groves noted how at ease they looked Wednesday.
“That’s what I told them after the game, was that this is probably the most confident, comfortable I’ve seen you guys play,” Groves said.
South Central (4-18) won 37-36 over South Bend Career Academy in Wednesday’s first game. The Trojans and Satellites will face off Friday in a sectional semifinal.
“They’re scrappy,” Groves said of the Satellites. “They’re better than what their record indicates, that’s for sure.”
TRITON 49,
ELKHART CHRISTIAN 31
EC 5 9 10 7 – 31
T 14 9 12 14 – 49
Elkhart Christian – Bryce Coursen 0-11 0-0 0, Jackson Klahr 2-4 0-0 5, Charlie Maxwell 1-5 0-2 2, Bryce Schrock 0-0 2-2 2, Michael Cox 0-0 1-2 1, Joe Ndaiga 3-11 3-4 9, Desmond Wilkins-Maxwell 3-7 2-2 10, Noah Hunt 0-0 0-0 0, Luke Burns 1-8 0-0 2, Totals 10-46 8-12 31.
Triton – Chase Butler 1-1 0-0 2, Tyson Yates 0-0 0-0 0, Tye Orsund 2-6 3-4 8, Jared Bules 3-4 1-2 10, Beau Hepler 5-8 2-3 15, Ashton Oviedo 2-6 2-2 8, Kaden Atkins 0-0 0-0 0, Quentin Amsden 0-2 0-0 0, Lucas Richman 0-0 0-0 0, Tyler Heckaman 1-1 0-0 2, Keegan Westafer 1-3 2-2 4, Bruce Johnson 0-1 0-0 0, Totals 15-32 10-13 49.
Three-pointers – Elkhart Christian 3 (Wilkins-Maxwell 2, Klahr 1), Triton 9 (Bules 3, Hepler 3, Oviedo 2, Orsund 1); Rebounding – Elkhart Christian 35 (Burns 6), Triton 22 (Orsund 4, Westafer 4); Turnovers – Elkhart Christian 14, Triton 12; Fouls – Elkhart Christian 12, Triton 16; Fouled out – Schrock 5; Records: Elkhart Christian 9-14, Triton 9-14.
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