BREMEN - It took Triton's varsity boys basketball team little more than a minute to build a 9-0 lead over Bremen Tuesday night.
It took Bremen two-and-a-half quarters to just score nine points.The host Lions simply couldn't keep up with the Class 1A No. 2 Trojans, who beat their Northern State Conference rival 81-33 in the opening round of the 45th annual TCU Bi-County Tournament.
"First and foremost, Triton is a very good basketball team," said first-year Bremen coach Kyle Hanyzewski. "They're very well-coached, they're very disciplined. They have scorers all over the place, and they play defense. We knew we'd have to play a perfect game, and they'd have to be off a bit."
Instead, it was the Trojans who seemed to play the perfect game, as they imposed their will on the Lions.
Triton improved to 12-0 on the season, while Bremen fell to 1-10 with its 10th-straight loss.
"I think the kids were waiting for this game for 340-some days," said Triton coach Jason Groves. "They beat us at our place last year and it cost us the conference championship. The kids were ready to go tonight. We came out and shot the ball well. When you shoot the ball that well, good things happen."
A 45-42 loss in overtime last season, left the Trojans with a 6-1 NSC record, while Bremen went on to win the conference title with a 7-0 record.
That loss obviously didn't sit well with Groves and his players, and the Trojans, whether they were playing for revenge or not, set the tone early and in a big way Tuesday night.
Triton junior Griffyn Carpenter opened the game with a three-pointer. Senior Taran Holderman added one of his own, and then Carpenter drilled another longe-range jumper.
Hanyzewski called a timeout a minute and three seconds into the game, but the Lions never recovered.
Triton went on to lead 25-4 after the first quarter, 39-7 at halftime and 65-18 going into the fourth quarter.
"Our defense really made our offense go," said Groves. "We really got after the ball. We've got a lot of quick guys with long arms, but you've still got to get after it, and we did."
The Trojans made 16 steals in the win, turning those Bremen miscues into 32 points.
Nine of Triton's 16 steals came via the ultra-quick hands of senior point guard Ben Montalbano.
Montalbano finished the game with seven points, six assists and nine steals.
He was 3 of 4 from the field and made the only free throw he attempted.
"There's not too many point guards I'd take over him," Hanyzewski said of Montalbano. "He does great things for them. He's like having another coach on the floor for them."
Carpenter scored a game-high 28 points for the Trojans, while Holderman chipped in with 16 points and juniors Blake Lemler and Jordan Everett came off the bench to score nine points each.
"It was nice for the guys to come off the bench and play well," said Groves. "There wasn't much of a dropoff. The kids came off the bench and really battled."
Triton was 30 of 48 (63 percent) from the field overall and 10 of 16 from three-point range.
Bremen, on the other hand, was 9 of 34 (27 percent) from the field overall and 0 of 5 from three-point range.
In falling behind 39-7 at halftime, the Lions were just 1 of 14 from the field through the first two quarters.
Senior Cody Barrier led Bremen with 13 points, while senior Tyler Pfeiffer chipped in with seven points and senior Kyle Feldman added four points.
With the 48-point win, Triton advanced to Friday's semifinal round against Culver, which beat LaVille 55-53. The game will be played at LaVille at 8 p.m.
Argos (8-3), which beat New Prairie 57-56, will play Glenn (6-3) in the other semifinal. Glenn advanced by beating Oregon-Davis 74-52.
The championship game is scheduled for Saturday at 8:30 p.m. at LaVille.
"It's an honor to be in this tournament," said Groves. "This is such a prestigous tournament. And it allows us to simulate the sectional. It's the closest thing to it, with a three-game format."
In the first game of the evening at Bremen, Triton's girls team fell 49-31 to the host Lady Lions.
Bremen clung to a 19-16 lead at halftime, but went on to outscore the Lady Trojans 30-15 in the second half.
Triton struggled shooting the ball, finishing just 13 of 42 overall and 2 of 17 from three-point range. Bremen was 16 of 36 from the field and 4 of 12 from beyond the arc.
The host team was able to put some distance between itself and Triton by hitting 13 of 19 free throw. The Lady Trojans were 3 of 5 from the charity stripe.
Bremen is now 6-8 on the season and will play play LaVille at 8 p.m. Thursday at LaVille. Triton, which fell to 4-12 with its fifth-straight loss, will play Culver in the consolation bracket at 8 p.m. Thursday at LaVille in the auxiliary gym.
Lerin Studt led Bremen with a game-high 15 points, while Brittney Pittman scored 14 points and Casey Hueni added 12 points.
Amanda Miller led Triton with seven points, while Aubrey Boardman and Megan Howdeshell scored six points each.
