Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
ROCHESTER -ÊBasketball coaches often plead for balanced scoring.
The Triton Trojans delivered it in Wednesday's game against Rochester.
Seven players scored between five and 17 points as the Trojans (7-6) won at Rochester (5-7) 74-66. The Triton offense had its way with Rochester's defense as the Trojans hit 28 of 47 field goals, 60 percent.
Senior guard Brandon Zeider hit 7 of 17 field goals and led Triton with 17. Senior forward Rob Salyer hit 6 of 10 field goals and scored 15. Junior forward Joey Potter hit 6 of 8 field goals and scored 15. Junior guard Tyson Blackford hit 3 of 5 field goals and scored 10.
"This balanced scoring has been something we've been striving to get all year," Triton coach Joe Bennett said. "Zeider has been consistent, but we've wanted to get more involved."
Salyer just missed a triple-double as he finished with 12 rebounds and eight assists. Bennett said his 15 points were a season high.
"Rob really played well," Bennett said. "He was aggressive when he needed to be aggressive, he rebounded well and handled the ball well."
Also for Triton, junior Jake Burnett scored six, junior Jim Read six and senior Brian Klingerman five.
Senior Deric Beck scored 21 and senior Blake Newton 19 for Rochester.
Beck scored the first nine points for the Zebras as their offense hit full-throttle early. But the Trojans rode out the quick start by Rochester and took a 21-15 lead at the end of the quarter.
Triton maintained control throughout the game, leading 38-26 at halftime and 56-43 at the end of three. Only in the fourth quarter did Rochester rally, closing Triton's lead to 70-66 in the final minute. But the Zebras could not hit another basket to draw closer, and Triton closed out the game by hitting free throws when Rochester fouled to stop the clock.
"This win ranks up there," Bennett said. "Any time you can beat a quality opponent on the road - and they are a quality opponent -Êit's a victory you can hang your hat on.
"We knew how much Rochester likes to run up and down the court. We wanted to play to our tempo. It just happened that we had open shots and made them."
While allowing Triton to shoot 60 percent from the field hurt the Zebras, so did their free throw shooting. They attempted 13 and hit but 2, while Triton hit 13 of 18. The Trojans outrebounded the Zebras as well, 34-20. Triton's shooting and rebounding more than made up for its turnovers -ÊTriton committed 19, while Rochester finished with nine.
TRITON 74, ROCHESTER 66
Triton (7-6) 21 17 18 18 - 74
Rochester (5-7) 15 11 17 23 - 66
Triton FG FT A S R Pts.
Zeider (G) 7-17 2-3 2 1 2 17
Salyer (F) 6-10 3-4 8 2 12 15
Potter (F) 6-8 3-3 1 1 9 15
Blackford (G) 3-5 2-4 2 1 5 10
Klingerman (C) 2-3 1-2 1 0 3 5
Burnett 2-2 0-0 0 0 2 6
Read 2-2 2-2 1 0 1 6
Bell 0-0 0-0 1 0 0 0
Unterbrink 0-0 0-0 2 0 1 0
Totals 28-47 13-18 18 5 34 74
Rochester FG FT Pts.
Beck (F) 8 1-4 21
Newton (G) 7 1-2 19
Bowers (C) 7 0-6 14
Barts (F) 4 0-0 8
Swank (G) 0 0-0 0
Patterson 1 0-1 2
Reasoner 1 0-0 2
Jana 0 0-0 0
Frounfelter 0 0-0 0
Totals 28 2-13 66
Three-point goals -ÊTriton 5-11 (Blackford 2-3, Burnett 2-2, Zeider 1-5, Salyer 0-1), Rochester 8 (Beck 4, Newton 4). Rebounds -ÊRochester 20 (leader N/A). Assists - Rochester 14 (leader N/A). Steals -ÊTriton 5, Rochester N/A. Turnovers - Triton 19, Rochester 9. Fouled out -ÊNone. Total fouls -ÊRochester 18, Triton 14.
JV: ROCHESTER 39, TRITON 38
