Experienced Parke Heritage next up for Triton Central

FAIRLAND – The Class 2A semistate opener Saturday at Southport High School features a veteran team against an even more experienced coaching staff.

Parke Heritage (24-4), ranked No. 4 and winners of four straight regional championships, squares off against No. 6 Triton Central (23-3), fresh off its first regional title since 1989.

The Wolves have lost the last two semistate championship games and played in the last three semistate tournaments. They played for a state title in 2021.

Triton Central head coach Mark James is leading his third basketball program into a semistate tournament. The Hall of Fame coach with 654 wins in his storied career is more concerned with Parke Heritage’s roster than its experience. He is inclined to trust his team’s routine to make it ready to win two games in one day and earn its first trip to the state finals.

“We tell are kids to W.I.N.,” said James. “What’s Important Now.

“Do your job right now, this second, and the other stuff doesn’t exist. If we can get that mindset going into the game and stay focused … we’ve been really fortunate. The reason was a big deal. These kids haven’t won a regional before. We fought through all that mentality stuff. We will be alright.”

Parke Heritage

Head coach Rich Schelsky is 166-58 in eight years at Parke Heritage. He has won six sectional and five regional titles, which includes a regional semifinal win over Triton Central in 2021, 47-30.

Two seasons later Treigh Schelsky, the head coach’s son, led Parke Heritage in scoring (18.4 ppg) as a freshman and helped capture the first of four consecutive regional titles. Now an Indiana All-Star candidate and Huntington University commit, Schelsky is averaging 15.8 ppg and shooting 39% from the 3-point line.

Triton Central’s defense will focus on 6-9 senior Isaac Pickel (10.5 ppg. 7.6 rpg), a Taylor commit, and 6-4 junior Carter Crum (13.5 ppg. 7.0 rpg) in an effort to control the lane.

Sophomore Joel Miller (8.9 ppg) and junior Brenden Goins (7.5 ppg) also contribute to a Parke Heritage team averaging 67.4 ppg.

“If both teams play well, it will be a blood bath. It will be real physical and a really good game to watch,” said James. “If they get out and score points, we will be in trouble. We can’t match them in buckets. They are too good offensively.”

Triton Central

The Tigers have allowed 40.7 ppg this season and are averaging holding teams 17 points below their offensive average this postseason.

As the opponents get tougher, Triton Central must control tempo and stay close through three quarters. With any type of lead in the fourth, the Tigers are difficult to rattle and deadly at the free throw line with three starters shooting at least 84%.

“That’s the key to our success. They care about each other, and they care about what we are trying to do,” said James. “I think you can see that when you watch us play. They always try to do the right thing, and they always try to give the best effort they’ve got.

“That’s all you can ask guys to do. You can’t control the ball going in or the officials or all those intangibles. You have to control what you can, and these guys have done that really well for us all year.”

Like Schelsky, Eli Sego went into the lineup as a freshman and averaged 12.2 points and 3.5 rebounds per game.

Schelsky has scored 1,840 career points, grabbed 438 rebounds and dished out 426 assists while hitting 205 3-pointers at a 35% clip. Sego enters the semistate with 1,669 points, 373 rebounds, 215 assists and a program record 197 steals. He has hit 208 3s – another program record -- while shooting 46% from the arc.

Sego (22.2 ppg) is the only double-digit scorer for Triton Central but there are plenty of scoring options available depending on what the defense allows.

Junior guard Jackson Faust (7.3 ppg) and sophomore Brody Hartman (6.6 ppg) have combined to hit 61 3s this season. Junior Henry Kemper (5.7 ppg) and senior Grant Long (5.3 ppg) combine to average 7.2 rebounds per game.

Junior Brayden Hoover (4.3 ppg) and senior Conner McClure (2.3 ppg, 2.2 rpg) complete a 7-man rotation for the coaching staff.

Spring Break

Both schools are currently on Spring Break which messes up the weekly schedule during an already stressful week.

“It’s kind of nice, especially not having school and getting to rest after lots of hard work, trying to focus and get better for what we have coming up on Saturday,” said Long.

The Triton Central coaching staff has tried to stay on routine this week. Practice times have remained the same as if the team had classes all day. The Tigers will spend Thursday afternoon practicing at Southport.

For James (photo, far right) and his veteran coaching staff that includes two assistants he has worked with since the early 1980s, it’s another week to enjoy the moment.

“It’s been a really fun year for us older guys,” said James. The coaching staff includes Dave Arnold, Jordan Dever and Bruce Torgersen. Dever is the only coach not in his 70s.

“I think sometimes going into the tournament it means more to the older guys because they know how hard it is to do,” said James. “These younger guys, 16 or 17 years old, this is something they will remember.

“Right now, I don’t think they know how long they will remember this.”

Southport Semistate

The second semistate game Saturday pits No. 8 Linton-Stockton (24-4) against Austin (17-8).

Three of the four teams in this year’s semistate had their seasons ended in 2025 by University. The Trailblazers defeated Triton Central, 44-43, at the Lebanon Regional then beat Linton-Stockton, 59-56 in overtime, and Parke Heritage, 53-47, in the semistate.

In 2023, Linton-Stockton lost to Fort Wayne Blackhawk Christian, 52-45, in the state championship game. The Miners also have been state-runner up in 2019 and 2013.

Austin has not gone deep into the postseason since falling in the 2018 regional championship game to Forest Park.

The semistate winners will return to Southport for an 8 p.m. championship game to determine who will go to Gainbridge Fieldhouse for the State Finals.

The Muncie Semistate in northern Indiana also features three state-ranked teams in Class 2A.

The first semifinal has unranked Fort Wayne Bishop Luers (15-11) taking on No. 2 Oak Hill (25-1). The second semifinal is No. 3 Westview (25-1) battling No. 9 Lapel (21-5).

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