BOURBON – A third-quarter surge led the Triton Trojans to their third win of the season over Northern State Conference rival Culver. Hosting the Cavaliers in the semifinals of Class 1A Sectional 51 Friday night, Triton scored 17 points in the third quarter after scoring just 18 points in the first half. The Trojans’ offensive outburst, which was spearheaded by the three-point shooting of junior Jordan Anderson, gave them some breathing room and led them to a 47-37 win. “At halftime I told the guys to just relax and play basketball,” said Triton coach Jason Groves, whose team held an 18-14 advantage at the intermission. “For the most part, we did that in the second half. Credit Culver, they did what they needed to do (to stay in the game).” Anderson scored nine of his team-high 14 points in the third quarter, making all three of the treys he attempted in the frame. Three-pointers by Anderson on consecutive possessions gave the Trojans a 27-17 lead with 3:33 remaining in the quarter. A trey from senior Skyler Reichert pushed Triton’s advantage to 32-20. “That’s what he does,” Groves said of Anderson, who was 4 of 6 from the arc. “He’s a good shooter. If he’s open, he’s going to knock it down. He’s pretty good when he’s open.” Culver scored the first six points of the fourth quarter and cut the deficit to four points twice, but the Trojans weren’t going to be denied the opportunity to play for their seventh sectional championship in eight years. Triton beat Culver 57-34 in Bourbon on Jan. 16, and then beat the Cavaliers 47-33 in the Bi-County Tournament one week later. While the Trojans won all three meetings with Culver this season, Groves knew the Cavaliers weren’t going to be fooled by anything Triton did. “We’re not going to fool Culver,” said Groves. “They know us too well. We play them three times most seasons. One year, I called a set we hadn’t run in a couple years, and Culver knew what it was. We’re not going to fool them.” For Culver, knowing what Triton was going to do and stopping it were two different things. To go with Anderson’s 14 points, the Trojans got eight points from both Reichert and fellow senior Joey Corder, and six points from Masen Yeo and sophomore Grant Johnson, and five from senior Austin Sellers. Both Corder and Yeo grabbed a game-high six rebounds, while Corder rounded out his stat line with five assists and four steals. “That’s the way it’s been all year,” Groves said of his team’s balance. “We don’t have that all-star, we don’t, but as team, we’re a pretty good team.” Senior Preston Hansel led Culver with a game-high 16 points and pulled down five boards, while sophomore Josh Krsek finished with 14 points and seven rebounds. The Cavaliers, who ended Triton’s sectional championship streak at six last year, finished the season with a 6-17 record. With the 10-point win, the Trojans improved to 17-7 and have won seven games in a row and 10 of their last 11. Triton will play Oregon-Davis, a 68-50 winner over South Central in Friday’s second semifinal, in tonight’s 7 p.m. championship game. The Trojans beat the Bobcats 63-46 in the season opener.
