INDIANAPOLIS - The Triton Trojans got off to a great start. The Indianapolis Metropolitan Pumas, however, got their dream ending.
Playing in the boys basketball state finals for the third time in four years, Class 1A No. 2 Triton raced out to a 12-3 lead over unranked Metropolitan at Conseco Fieldhouse Saturday. The Pumas, who have only been a varsity basketball program for four years and who have just eight players on the team, responded with a 14-0 run that bridged the first and second quarters and went on to win 59-55."It was all heart and fight for us," said Metropolitan coach Nick Reich, whose team finished its improbable state championship season with a 22-6 record. "These kids come every day and overcome adversity. They stuck together as a team and a family and they got it done together. Most people wouldn't believe the challenges and barriers this team has been through to get here. We did it together. I couldn't be prouder."
Triton, which won a state title in 2008 and was the runner-up a year later, lost for the first time since a 55-43 setback to Warsaw on Dec. 21 and finished the season with a 23-4 record.
"I definitely think they (Metropolitan) deserved to win today - they played well," said Triton coach Jason Groves, whose team had won 18 games in a row prior to Saturday. "They knocked down some shots, did great on the boards and did a nice job on us defensively. They played well in all aspects of the game."
After falling behind 12-3, the Pumas scored the last nine points of the first quarter, the last of which came on a buzzer-beating half-court shot by senior Jerrbryon Graves.
"They left me wide open," said Graves, who got national attention two weeks ago when he nailed a 60-foot shot at the buzzer to lift the Pumas to a 64-61 win over Shawe Memorial in the regional championship game, a highlight that later became the top play on ESPN's SportsCenter. "Why would you leave me wide open with 1.1 seconds left?"
Graves' miraculous shot Saturday tied the game at 12, while it was pair of free throws he converted with just under four seconds remaining that iced the game and the school's first state championship in any sport.
After Metropolitan's Anthony Jackson made good on a pair of free throws with 9.8 seconds remaining to push the Pumas' lead to 57-52, Triton sharpshooter Griffyn Carpenter brought the Trojans back with a three-pointer.
Though his team didn't have any timeouts remaining, Groves called one after Carpenter's trey.
"There was no other way to stop the clock, said Groves. "Maybe if they missed both free throws, we'd still be down two, and we could deny the ball, get it back and get it a shot. It was better than letting the clock run out."
Graves, who was named the Most Valuable Player for the Class 1A game, scored eight points in the fourth quarter and led the Pumas with a team-high 15 points.
Reese Williams, Raymond Green and Anthony Jackson scored 13 points each. Jackson also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds, including two crucial offensive boards in the final 15 seconds of the game.
"I was just doing my part to help us complete our mission," said Jackson.
The Pumas, who trailed 24-23 at halftime and led 39-33 after three quarters of play, were 22 of 48 from the field overall in the four-point win, 6 of 16 from three-point range, and 9 of 16 from the charity stripe.
The Trojans, who entered the game shooting 51 percent from the field, struggled shooting against Metropolitan's athletic defenders.
Triton was 18 of 49 (37 percent) from the field overall, 8 of 17 from the arc, and 11 of 16 from the free throw line.
Carpenter, the program's all-time leading scorer, was 4 of 4 from the field in the fourth quarter as he scored 10 of his 15 points over the final eight minutes. Prior to finding his touch in the latter stages of the game, however, he missed 10 straight shots. He finished the game 6 of 17 from the field overall and 3 of 9 from the arc.
"The credit for that goes to their defense," Carpenter said of Metropolitan. "They did a good job of sticking to us. We didn't play anyone else this year as athletic as them. They definitely gave me problems."
Sophomore Clay Yeo led the Trojans with a game-high 19 points before fouling out, while senior Jordan Everett scored 12 points, all from the arc. Yeo also pulled down six rebounds and made six steals.
Carpenter and Yeo were named to the Class 1A All-Tournament Team, along with Graves, Jackson and Williams from Metropolitan.
Senior Austin Davis chipped in with four points and eight rebounds in the loss, while sophomore Quentyn Carpenter and junior Zak Shively rounded out Triton's scoring output with three and two points, respectively.
Metro - Reese Williams 5-11 1-3 13, William Kennedy 1-3 0-0 2, Raymond Green 5-11 0-0 13, Jerrbryon Graves 4-12 5-6 15, Anthony Jackson 5-7 3-7 13, Jonathan Kelly 1-3 0-0 3, Jarad Tapley 0-1 0-0 0. Totals 22-48 9-16 59.
Three-pointers - Triton 8 (Everett 4, G. Carpenter 3, Q. Carpenter), Metro 6 (Williams 2, Graves 2, Green, Kelly); Rebounds - Triton 32 (Davis 8), Metro 35 (Jackson 13); Turnovers - Triton 11, Metro 13; Steals - Triton 8 (Yeo 6), Metro 7 (Green 3); Records: Triton 23-4, Metro 22-6.
All-Tournament Team - Griffyn Carpenter (Triton), Clay Yeo (Triton), Jerrbryon Graves (MVP, Metropolitan), Reese Williams (Metropolitan), Anthony Jackson (Metropolitan)
