Strong second half nets Class 2A, No. 8 Triton Central win over Scecina

FAIRLAND – The accolades have been plentiful in recent weeks for Class 2A, No. 8 Triton Central.

An impressive road win at top 5 ranked Indianapolis Roncalli preceded winning its fourth-straight Shelby County Tournament championship Saturday night.

Four days later, the Tigers found themselves trailing Indianapolis Scecina at halftime in its first home game in more than a month. Head coach Mark James asked for more – and that’s what he got.

Eli Sego and Jackson Faust combined to score 16 points in the third quarter that turned a 22-16 deficit into a 35-30 advantage.

The Crusaders would not relent – hitting four three-pointers in the fourth quarter to get the game tied at 42-all with 3:05 to go.

A 6-2 run by the Tigers and two empty possessions inside the final 90 seconds finally sealed a 48-44 win for a still improving Triton Central squad that is 10-2.

“We were flat from the county (tournament). Monday and Tuesday we didn’t practice well. They had a tough time getting into it,” said James. “We discussed some of the mental things at halftime. I thought the kids responded really well.

“We did not achieve one defensive goal at halftime. When that happens, that means they are not mentally into it. We discussed defense at halftime. They went out and played a lot better.”

Sego finished with a game-high 21 points (18 in the second half). He needs 215 points to surpass Wyatt Felling’s career scoring record of 1,553 points.

Faust (photo) hit a pair of threes in the first and third quarters Wednesday and finished with 14 points, two rebounds and two assists.

“(Jackson) is starting to play harder for us,” said James. “He still needs to work on his ball handling, like everyone needs to work on stuff.

“That is a good thing, we are winning but these kids are smart enough to understand we have things we still need to work on the next month and a half. We are still trying to get better so we are playing our best ball in March.”

James was referencing the Sectional 43 tournament at Eastern Hancock that will include Scecina (7-4), Heritage Christian (7-2) – Triton Central’s Friday night opponent – and the host Royals (5-4).

Scecina played Wednesday without six foot, eight-inch senior forward Moritz Schelhas (leg injury). That made the Crusaders quicker on the floor but forced 6-5 sophomore Jaylin Foster to stay near the rim defensively.

Scecina hit three 3s in the opening quarter, but a 10-3 closing run gave the Tigers a 14-13 lead at the first break.

Triton Central’s offense shut down in the second quarter, hitting just 1 of 8 shots and committing four turnovers. The Crusaders’ 7-0 run to end the quarter resulted in a 22-16 halftime lead.

Sego (photo) came out aggressive right away in the third quarter, burying a 3 from the wing in the opening seconds and then driving and scoring before the first minute ticked off the clock.

Foster and Jake Marshall each hit 3s for Scecina that made it 30-24 before the Tigers’ 11-0 run that finished with Sego hitting a corner 3 off an assist from Faust.

“I thought Eli got more aggressive on offense,” said James. “The first part of the third quarter, that really helped us. I thought he was backing off early. He adjusted. Everybody adjusted. I thought we played hard and we made some brain fart things, but we played hard enough to win. (Scecina) is a good team. They are really athletic and they can shoot.”

Adrian Hill started the fourth quarter scoring with a 3. Caleb Davis drained a long 3. And Foster hit back-to-back 3s about 90 seconds apart to get the Crusaders back even with the Tigers.

Bryce Mathis drove to the rim and converted with 2:01 to go put Scecina up 44-42.

Sego quickly erased that lead with a 3 at the other end of the floor.

Scecina had a turnover on its next possession and Sego was fouled. He sank both free throws for a 47-44 lead.

Scecina took nearly 30 seconds off the clock before Hill missed a corner 3 in the final seconds.

Sego sank 1 of 2 free throws with nine seconds on the clock to complete the scoring.

Foster led Scecina with 13 points, seven rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Mathis finished with 11 points and four rebounds. Hill had eight points.

Triton Central won the junior varsity game, 60-37.

James, with 641 career wins over 44 seasons, is building a versatile unit that works well around one of the program’s all-time best players in Sego.

“They are good kids. I like this team. I like this team as much as any I’ve ever coached,” said James. “They are good kids. They try to do what you ask. They are fun for me to be around. They are fun for our coaches to be around. And I think they are having fun.

“As long as I have fun, my teams normally have fun. When I don’t have fun, then they don’t have fun. It’s always that way. We’ve been pretty lucky so far this year. We have a lot of games left.”

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