Triton's Season slips Away
By Ron Haramia
News Mirror
BOURBON � Boone Grove does not play Triton in the regular season.
For the second straight season, the Wolves found themselves playing in Bourbon.
For the final time in a long while, it was the Class 2A Triton Regional that brought the Wolves to Marshall County. Next season, Triton drops to 1A and so the Regional will definitely be elsewhere.
This season, Boone Grove is sure this was right where they wanted to be.
Last year�s regional runner-up, the Porter County school used a well-balanced offense to stage a fourth-quarter comeback before winning, 71-59, in overtime ending Triton�s season
With five players scoring in double figures, the Wolves used a 28-9 advantage in the final quarter and overtime to offset a 27-point effort by the Trojans� Todd Blackford. The Wolves advanced to the Elite Eight for the second consecutive year.
Triton finishes 14-10. Northfield eliminated the Wolves, 58-42, in the title game to end the season 11-12.
�Blackford is one heck of a player,� said Boone Grove coach Matt McKay shortly after seeing his team come back after being on the ropes most of the game.
�For a junior to score that many points under the pressure of a regional game; he can transfer to Boone Grove any time he wants.�
High praise from the eleventh-year Wolves� coach, whose team has to be the best 11-12 team around.
The Wolves tied for second in the Porter County Conference, a league which boasts two teams in the top six in the state this year� neither one being Boone Grove. The non-conference part of its schedule was loaded with large schools (four losses were to 4A schools).
Large would describe most of Boone Grove�s roster, as well as how they played late in the game to pull out the victory.
Their starting lineup featured a front line of 6-6 and 6-5, with the first two subs off the bench listed at 6-3.
�Their size was a big concern for us,� said Triton coach Mike McBride.
His lineup was missing 6-3 starter Kyle Bell due to a knee injury in the sectional. �With Bell out, we had some matchup problems.� And, as players fouled out down the stretch, the problems were simply magnified.
Four of the five Boone Grove starters finished in double figures, led by 6-6 junior Phil Bien.
Bien was �muy bien� from the foul line, hitting 10-of-13; the Wolves hit 28-of-36 free throws for the game. Eleven of those makes came in the overtime session alone when Triton was forced to foul and in the double-bonus situation.
�We started with a wait-and-see approach,� said McKay of his team�s offensive strategy. �If we could go inside, we would. We thought that depth-wise we would have the advantage.�
With a revolving door of fresh 6-foot players entering the game, McBride said, �Their size hurt us on the boards. We were quicker than them, we just didn�t hit our shots. We were there. We just didn�t close out the deal.�
It was a big deal for the Trojans to be tied at the end of the first period.
Bien took control inside right away and the Wolves jumped out to a quick 7-3 lead. But a Braxton Barton 3-pointer and a three-point play by Blackford helped knot the score at 11 after one period.
Blackford hit two 3s in the second period and Josh Moore used pump fakes effectively to add seven points as the Trojans took a 32-26 lead into halftime.
The junior two some continued to roll in the third as Blackford hit for nine more, Moore six. Six Wolves scored in the quarter, but Triton took a seven-point lead to begin the fourth as Blackford already had 23 points and Moore 15.
The Wolves whittled away at the lead with a 9-4 run to start the final period. With the lead two with under two minutes to play, Blackford made a steal and headed in for what would have been a four-point cushion.
But with the adrenaline flowing, his attempted dunk hit the back iron, Boone Grove�s Jeff Whiteside was fouled on the rebound, converted the double-bonus free throws, to tie the game with 1:40 left.
�It is a two-way street,� said McBride of that key sequence. �If he (Blackford) puts it down, we are up four and the place goes nuts. I tell my guys to play aggressive. I trust him and have confidence in him. Look what he did today. He just didn�t finish that one. It didn�t cost us the game.�
Blackford made up for it by scoring off his own miss with :48 left to tie the score at 57, then blocking Nick Somers� last-second shot in regulation.
Then after playing some of their best basketball late in the season, particularly in the playoffs, the Trojans picked the absolute worst time to go cold.
But they did.
Suddenly, shots were either forced or just off. Layups weren�t going in, nor the lone attempt from the charity stripe.
�It was unfortunate for us. We had control. We just missed some easy shots,� said McBride about the overtime drought.
In the meantime, Boone�s Mike Christenson hit a 3 to start the extra session, then every time Triton fouled, the Wolves went to the line to shoot two.
The Wolves made them count. They made them hurt.
Bien hit 5-of-6, Christenson 4-of-4, Somers 2-of-4 in the overtime to provide the final margin.
�I think the key for us was our poise,� said McKay. �Up against a good Triton team, at their place, on their floor, we wanted to limit their runs.�
What they did was stop Triton�s 7-2 run to end the season. Since Feb. 8, the only blemishes on the Trojans� record were losses to Tippecanoe Valley (ranked No. 3 Class 3A at the time) and to Knox (Class 3A Plymouth Regional finalist).
Blackford also grabbed six rebounds and More had a team-high seven to go with his 17 points. Senior point guard Adam Wanemacher scored eight points in his final game.
Bien finished with 18 points, seven rebounds and three blocks while Somers scored 13 to lead Boone Grove. Dan Borys, Christenson and Whiteside each added 11 points. Christenson and Whiteside each had six rebounds.
With four starters coming back, as well as a return to Class A next season, the offseason will not be short enough for McBride.
�We had a tough schedule this year and we had a lot of guys miss a lot of games due to injuries,� he said. �But we competed. We had a nice run late in the year. I think we brought the excitement back to Triton basketball.�
BOONE GROVE 71,
TRITON 59
Class 2A Triton Regional
BOONE GROVE (71): Marcus Banning 3 1-1 7, Nick Somers 3 5-8 13, Matt Langbehn 0 0-0 0, Will Mitchell 0 0-0 0, Dan Borys 5 1-2 11, Mike Christenson 2 6-6 11, Jeff Whiteside 3 5-6 11, Phil Bien 4 10-13 18. TOTALS: 20 28-36 71.
TRITON (59): Adam Wanemacher 2 4-7 8, Cory McClarnon 0 0-0 0, Todd Blackford 10 4-4 27, Braxton Barton 2 0-0 5, Brent Savill 1 0-0 2, Bryan Watkins 0 0-0 0, Dan Kuhn 0 0-0 0, Josh Moore 8 1-2 17, Bryan Moriarty 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 23 9-13 59.
Score by quarters
Boone Grove 11 26 43 57 71
Triton 11 32 50 57 59
3-pointers: Triton 4 (Blackford 3, Barton), Boone Grove 3 (Somers 2, Christenson). Fouls (fouled out): Triton 25 (Moore, Watkins, Savill), Boone Grove 13 (none)
Triton�s Final Record: 14-10.
Officials: Grady Smith and Stan Foreman.
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