Continuously serving Kosciusko County since 1854
BOURBON -ÊOn Tuesday the Triton Trojans trailed by 11 points in the first half before coming back for a five-point win over Glenn.
Friday night they nearly let a 15-point lead slip away before holding onto a 70-65 win over Bremen.
In Saturday night's sectional final the Trojans, now 14-9, saved the dramatics against an outmanned North Judson team.
Mike McBride's squad used superior athleticism and serious sharp shooting to trounce the Bluejays 69-48 for McBride's first sectional crown as Triton's head coach.
The suspense was over after the first quarter. The Trojans began the game with a 9-0 run.
Junior Braxton Barton nailed two three-pointers to set the pace. The 5-foot-8 guard went an amazing 11 of 16 from behind the arc in the sectional.
As a team Triton is 20-39 from three-point range so far in the tournament.
After one quarter Triton was up 26-11 with torrid shooting that left very few questions about the game.
The only questions left were whether the Trojans could put up 100 points and what scissors they should use to cut down the nets.
Senior Adam Wanemacher led Triton in the first half with 14 points. He also made up for a poor performance from the line after the Bremen game by going 6 of 6 from the charity stripe. Junior Todd Blackford added 10 points in the half.
Usual starter Kyle Bell was sidelined due to swelling in his right knee from an injury sustained in the Bremen game. Senior Bryan Watkins filled in and provided an inside presence. Fellow senior Brent Savill aided with five points.
Triton's early scoring barrage seemed to leave North Judson punch drunk for most of the game. The Bluejays struggled from the field and were unable to get into any sort of rhythm on offense.
Much of that could be attributed to Triton's full-court press that caused 15 turnovers over the course of the evening.
Despite some turnovers of their own and occasional sloppy play, Triton couldn't have played better. The Trojans went 14 of 24 from the field in the first half, giving them a 43-20 lead at the break.
North Judson decided not to pull a St. Bonaventure and came out for the second half.
It began with Wanemacher finding Blackford for an alley-oop lay in that led to a 12-4 run.
At different times in the quarter Triton pushed its lead to 34 points.
The fourth quarter saw Triton have the opportunity for McBride to show his appreciation to his players.
Bell, noticeably favoring his injured leg, labored onto the floor with a brace for one trip up the court.
"Kyle was pretty upset that he couldn't play tonight so we wanted the chance for him to get in the game for a minute," said McBride.
Then at the 4:00 mark, McBride put all five of his seniors, Wanemacher, Watkins, Savill, Daniel Kuhn, and Bryan Moriarty on the floor.
That allowed McBride to let Wanemacher leave the court on his own with the four other players he's shared his high school career with.
For McBride, Wanemacher is a coach's dream.
"Adam is just a great kid. He always shows up and I just love coaching him," said McBride. "For Adam and the rest of those seniors it was real special to cut down those nets because they've been through a lot. With the exception of Adam, the other four seniors are role players. They know their roles and because of that have been a pleasure to coach."
Perhaps nobody has been through more than Wanemacher.
Earlier in his high school career he had a kidney operation that left his basketball career in serious jeopardy. After the game the energetic guard realized a dream he worried might never materialize for him.
"This just means a lot. We were just going at them tonight. We just wanted to show them that this is our court and our fans. And this is what all the hard work and getting through tough times got us," said Wanemacher holding the sectional trophy.
Blackford perhaps best summarized how this team respects the five seniors.
"I wanted to play well for our seniors," said Blackford who averaged 24.6 for the sectional, seven points over his average. "So mostly we did it for them."
For Barton, who has emerged as the team's deep threat and sparkplug, this win ranks high at the top on his list of accomplishments.
"It's unbelievable," said Barton. "I know for a fact that this is the biggest thing any of these guys have done."
The Trojans host the 2A regional and look to be the favorite. Boone Groove (10-11) pulled off a stunning upset of third-ranked Wheeler (21-3) and will face the Trojans in the second game at noon. Central Noble (10-12) and Northfield (13-10) open things up on Saturday.
TRITON 69,
NORTH JUDSON 48
Triton 26 17 21 5 - 69
North Judson 11 9 10 18 - 48
Triton FG FT A S R Pts.
Wanemacher 5-9 6-6 5 2 7 16
Blackford 7-12 3-3 1 0 7 20
Barton 3-6 2-2 1 0 0 11
Watkins 1-3 0-0 1 1 2 2
Moore 1-7 0-0 1 4 5 3
McClarnon 1-1 3-4 1 0 0 5
Sauer 0-1 0-0 0 0 0 0
Bell 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0
Savill 2-2 1-1 1 0 0 5
Kuhn 2-3 0-0 0 1 0 5
Sellers 1-1 0-0 0 0 0 2
Moriarty 0-1 0-0 0 0 1 0
Totals 23-46 15-16 11 8 22 69
North Judson FG FT A S R Pts.
Coldiron 1-6 0-0 1 1 2 3
Schumacher 1-5 1-22 3 0 4 3
Richie 3-5 2-2 1 0 6 8
Origer 2-6 0-1 0 0 1 4
Franko 5-15 1-2 0 0 5 12
Liskey 3-3 0-1 1 1 3 6
Zembala 1-2 0-0 0 0 0 3
Brown 1-1 3-4 0 0 1 5
Fortner 1-2 0-0 1 0 2 2
Radtke 1-2 0-0 1 0 1 2
Totals 18-47 7-12 8 2 25 48
Three point goals -ÊTriton 8-14 (Blackford 3-4, Barton 3-6, Moore 1-2, Kuhn 1-1, Moriarty 0-1) North Judson 3-17 (Zembala 1-2, Franko 1-5, Coldiron 1-5, Schumacher 0-3, Fortner 0-1, Origer 0-1). Turnovers -ÊTriton 9 North Judson 15. Team Fouls -ÊTriton 13 North Judson 15. Fouled Out -ÊNone. Technical Fouls -ÊNone
