BOURBON - Facing yet another tall task, senior Colton Keel said he and his Triton teammates must do the little things Saturday if they are to beat top-ranked Jac-Cen-Del in the Class 1A state championship game at Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianpolis.
Jac-Cen-Del's starting lineup features 6-foot-4 senior Gerald Hardesty, 6-3 sophomore Trevor Arnett, 6-3 senior Tim Arnett, 6-2 senior Matt Gehl and 5-11 senior Blake Sutton."That puts a lot of pressure on all of us to come out and perform," Keel said of Triton facing the tallest team it has all season. "We're all going to have to do the little things. We have to box out, get rebounds and play defense."
It's those fundamental things that have the Trojans back in Indianapolis after graduating four starters from last year's state championship team.
"We've been the underdog before," said Triton coach Jason Groves. "Nobody expected us to beat Bowman Academy. Nobody expected us to beat Lafayette Central Catholic. But here we are, playing for another state championship. These kids keep defying the odds. They expect to win, no matter who they play, or where they're playing at. These kids expect to win."
Third-ranked Triton (24-2) and No. 1 Jac-Cen-Del (24-2) square off Saturday at 10:30 a.m.
The Class 2A game, featuring second-ranked Fort Wayne Bishop Luers and Brownstown Central, will follow.
The evening session begins at 6 p.m. with No. 1 Princeton and No. 7 Rochester battling for the 3A title, followed by top-ranked Bloomington South and sixth-ranked Fort Wayne Snider playing for the Class 4A championship.
Jac-Cen-Del advanced to the state finals for the first time in school history by beating No. 7 North Daviess 38-32 last week in the semistate.
The Eagles enter Saturday's game on a 17-game win streak.
Jac-Cen-Del's last loss came on Jan. 10 at Batesville.
Batesville, a Class 3A team that finished the season with a 19-3 record, handed the Eagles both their losses.
Prior to last week's semistate, Groves said Lafayette Central Catholic reminded him of his current Triton team.
Talking about this weekend's matchup, Groves said Jac-Cen-Del reminds him of his Triton team that beat Indianapolis Lutheran 50-42 in last year's state championship game.
"They're big," Groves said of the Eagles. "Their starters are 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, 6-2 and 5-11. Physically, they remind me a lot of us last year. They're tall and long."
Gehl leads leads Jac-Cen-Del in scoring with 20 points per game, while Sutton chips in with 13 points per game and Tim Arnett adds 11 points per game.
"They do a lot of things well," Groves said of the Eagles. "Offensively they've very good and they rebound well. Their two leading scorers are good. They're very athletic."
On average, the Eagles outrebound their opponents 32-23.
Jac-Cen-Del shoots 50 percent from the floor as a team and averages 68 points per game.
Its opponents shoot 37 percent from the floor and average 48 points per game.
The Trojans advanced to the state finals by beating No. 6 Lafayette Central Catholic 50-47 in last week's semistate.
Triton enters Saturday's game on an eight-game win streak. The Trojans' losses this season came to conference rival Bremen, a 2A school, and 3A state finalist Rochester.
Triton hasn't lost to a 1A oppenent since falling 49-47 to eventual state champion Oregon-Davis in the 2007 sectional championship.
Because it was the program's first state championship, Keel said people constantly talk about last year's Triton team.
The 6-4 senior, the only returning starter from that team, wants some respect for this year's Triton squad.
"People come up to us and are always talking about last year's team," said Keel. "We have a great team this year, too."
Keel leads Triton's balanced scoring attack with 16 points per game, while sophomore Griffyn Carpenter averages 15 points per game and senior Joel Meister chips in with 13 points per game.
"These kids don't like to lose," Groves said of his players. "They've tasted success, and they don't want anything but that. They expect to win."
