Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
CULVER - If free throw shooting truly is contagious, like Triton boys basketball coach Joe Bennett said it was after his team played South Central Friday night in the semifinal round of the Culver A Sectional, then the Trojans had something. And Bennett couldn't have been happier.
Triton used a 24-of-29 performance from the free throw line last night in defeating South Central 58-40, pushing its overall season record to 14-8. South Central finishes its season with a 9-14 record.
"We needed them," said Bennett of the foul shots his team made. "I think free throw shooting is contagious. A couple guys hit some and that gives the rest of the team confidence."
In that case, the Trojans were most confident in the fourth quarter when they connected on 15 of 19 free throws.
South Central was whistled for 21 total fouls in the game, while the Trojans committed but one foul in the first half and 12 for the game.
Senior forward Brandon Zeider led the Trojans at the line, going 8 of 9 for the game. He also finished the game 5 of 11 from the field, scoring a game-high 19 points, and pulled down 10 rebounds.
"We've counted on Zeider all year," said Bennett. "We've been trying all year to develop balanced scoring. Tonight Zeider was ready to play and did what we asked."
As far as the balanced scoring, the Trojans got that too.
Junior Jim Read chipped in with 11 points, as well as pulling down six rebounds. Junior Joey Potter added nine points, seven of them coming in the fourth quarter.
Triton also got six points from Jake Burnett, five points from Tyson Blackford and four points out of Rob Salyer.
The Satellites were led in the scoring column by senior Branden Mann's 13 points. Six-foot-four sophomore Joey Cuff added 11 points and pulled down 14 rebounds.
"Cuff is a good athlete," said Bennett. "He's going to be a special player for them."
Triton outrebounded South Central 32-28.
The two teams were knotted at six in the first quarter before Zeider sparked an 8-0 Triton run with a three-pointer at the 3:56 mark. South Central trailed 14-10 after the first quarter of play.
Potter sparked a 9-0 Trojan run in the second stanza with a rebound and bucket with 3:10 remaining in the first half. Triton, which was 9 of 21 from the field in the first half, went to the locker room with a 29-17 lead.
"I think offensively, we did what we wanted to do," said Bennett. "And that was move the ball and move the ball quickly. When you do that, you're tough to defend."
Triton led 42-26 with 4:15 left to play in the final frame before two free throws by sophomore Jeff Baum ignited a 7-0 run by the Satellites, cutting the lead to 42-33.
South Central whittled the lead to less than 10 points one time in the final 2:05 of the game, when a rainbow three-pointer by Mann somehow found the bottom of the twine as he was fouled. He completed the four-point play with a free throw, cutting Triton's lead to nine, 47-38. The Trojans outscored South Central 11-2 the rest of the way, accounting for the 18-point win.
Triton turned the ball over 13 times, while its defense forced the Satellites into 19 turnovers, 11 in the final two quarters.
"I was pleased most with our defensive intensity," said Bennett. "We held a good South Central team to 40 points."
Triton, which won the sectional champion last year for the first time in 30-plus years, will clash with Oregon-Davis in tonight's championship at 7:30 p.m. Oregon-Davis (9-11) advanced by edging 1-19 Culver 41-37.
TRITON 58
SOUTH CENTRAL 40
Triton (14-8) 14 15 10 19 - 58
S. Central (9-14) 10 7 8 15 - 40
Triton FG FT R S Pts.
Blackford (G) 1-4 2-2 2 1 5
Salyer (F) 0-0 4-4 2 2 4
Zeider (G) 5-11 8-8 10 2 19
Klingerman (C) 1-5 0-0 4 1 2
Read (F) 3-7 5-8 6 0 11
Bell 0-0 0-0 0 0 0
Unterbrink 0-4 0-0 1 2 0
Burnett 2-5 0-0 2 0 6
Potter 2-4 5-6 3 1 9
Sauer 1-1 0-0 0 0 2
Totals 15-41 24-29 32 11 58
S. Central FG FT R S Pts.
Lantz (G) 0-0 0-0 2 0 0
Baum (G) 1-8 2-3 2 0 4
Bruce (F) 1-4 2-2 1 1 4
Rinker (F) 0-4 0-0 2 0 0
Cuff (C) 5-10 1-2 14 1 11
Boo 2-6 0-0 1 1 5
Frank 0-1 0-0 1 0 0
Mann 4-6 3-4 3 2 13
Horst 1-1 1-2 2 1 3
Totals 14-40 9-13 28 6 40
Three-point goals - Triton 4 (Burnett 2, Zeider 1, Blackford 1), South Central 3 (Mann 2, Boo 1). Turnovers - Triton 13, South Central 19. Fouls - Triton 12, South Central 21. Fouled out - Bruce, Cuff.
Other semifinal score - Oregon-Davis 41, Culver 37
