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This is the word the Triton varsity boys basketball team shouted before they took the court in the second half of their 80-48 win over Elkhart Baptist last night.
Oddly enough, that's how the Trojans accounted for most of their offensive output in their second win of the season, by hustling.
Coach Joe Bennett's team got on the scoreboard in a hurry as 6-foot-2 Matt Savill got two of his game-high 28 points just 20 seconds into the game. The Eagles would never be this close again as Triton enjoyed a 10-15 point cushion throughout the game.
Before it was said and done, the Trojans opened the game with an 11-2 run, and defensive pressure that didn't allow the Eagles to score their first basket until nearly three minutes had ticked off the game clock.
The only thing that kept Elkhart Baptist even remotely close in the opening frame was their 6 for 6 effort from the charity stripe. They tallied two other points the entire first eight minutes of the contest, those coming from Drew Ryall. For the game the Eagles shot 17-19 from the charity stripe, as Triton committed 21 fouls, 16 in the first half. But they couldn't stop the Trojan onslaught from the getgo, and when the opening quarter ended Elkhart Baptist found themselves on the short end of things, 20-8. Triton never looked back.
"We did a good job of maintaining the lead," said Bennett. "Our defense played well, there's some things we need to keep working on but I was pleased with our first half perfomance."
When the two teams emerged from the lockerrooms for the start of the second half the Eagles had closed the gap to 37-27 after they outscored Triton 19-17 in quarter number two. But the Trojans picked up right where they left off. They started the third frame on a 9-0 run stretching their lead to 46-27.
"The start of the second half is the key to any game," said Bennett. "We had some good looks and we finished them. At halftime we emphasized playing without fouls."
And the Trojans did that. In the first half Triton was called for 16 fouls, in the second half they tallied only six violations. And they only turned the ball over four times in the final 16 minutes of play, 10 in the entire game.
The start of the final frame was no different.
Savill single handidly outscored the Eagles 7-0 to start the final eight minutes. He scored 11 points in the quarter on 2-2 free throws and 4-4 from the floor.
"We're real pleased with Matt's effort offensively and defensively," said Bennett. "He's giving the effort we're asking for and when he gets in the flow of the offense he's gonna get some looks."
Ryall got some good looks for the Eagles, but shot a dismal 6-21 from the field, including 0-5 in the fourth quarter. Sixteen of his team high 22 points came in the first half.
After the game when Bennett was asked what his team did to shut Ryall down in the second half he just smiled and didn't say anything. Said they didn't do anything different.
The victory gave the Trojans a two game win streak and an overall record of 2-1, their only defeat coming to Bremen on November 28.
"We're on our way," said Bennett. "We're progressing. We're not there yet, but we're thinking like we ought to. And we're doing positive things."
Triton will need to do as many positive things as they can Friday when they travel to Plymouth to contest the always-tough Pilgrims.
"We go to Plymouth on Friday," said Bennett. "They're an excellent team and they have an excellent coach. He (Jack Edison) is one of the most respected coaches in the area."
