Fast start leads Triton Central to fourth-straight Shelby County Boys Basketball Tournament championship

WALDRON – Eli Sego and Kellen Crim exchanged opening three pointers Saturday night to start the championship game of the Shelby County Boys Basketball Tournament.

It was all downhill for Morristown from there.

Triton Central hit its next four shots while the Yellow Jackets did not record another field goal until the final seconds of the quarter. By then, the Class 2A, No. 10 Tigers led 16-3 and never looked back.

Sego scored a game-high 24 points, grabbed seven rebounds and had four steals to help Triton Central capture its fourth straight county tourney championship.

Sego (photo) was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament for the second consecutive season making him the 10^th overall player to accomplish that feat in the last 100 years of the tournament.

“It feels amazing,” said Sego. “I couldn’t have made it without my team. I think all my shots were assisted. All credit to the team and the coaching staff.”

Sego hit three 3s in the opening quarter and had 12 points by halftime. He added two more 3s in the second half and hit 5 of 7 long-range shots in the game.

Triton Central (9-2) hit nine 3s in the win and shot 47% from the field.

“Everyone is unselfish. Our chemistry since the beginning of the year has been pretty good,” said Sego. “It keeps growing and getting better. Everyone is knocking down shots.”

Jackson Faust and Grant Long each scored 10 points for Triton Central.

The Tigers led 19-5 at the end of the first quarter and 28-7 by halftime.

The original Victory Bell commemorating the champions of the Shelby County Tournament was on display for the 100th consecutive Shelby County Boys Basketball Tournament at Waldron High School. The bell currently resides in the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame in New Castle.

Morristown took just 16 shots in the opening 16 minutes, 11 from beyond the arc.

“It’s really too bad that kids base their work on the ball going in the basket when only about a minute of the game the ball is in their hands,” said Triton Central head coach Mark James, who is 3-0 in three Shelby County Tournament championship games. “I thought we defended really hard tonight. The kids played really hard and shared the ball well. We are just trying to play for improvement every game like everybody else right now.”

Morristown (7-4) was just 2 for 19 from the 3-point line through three quarters and never got its offense on track.

Only two Yellow Jackets scored in the loss.

Kellen Crim finished with 18 points. Brody Smith had six points and eight rebounds.

The Yellow Jackets are at Knightstown (4-5) Thursday then take on Oldenburg Academy (5-5) Saturday at noon at the Hoosier Gym in Knightstown.

Triton Central gets its first look at a pair of potential sectional opponents this week. The Tigers, who have not played a home game since Dec. 6, will host Indianapolis Scecina (7-3) and Heritage Christian (7-2) Friday.

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