The cliché of the final score not being indicative of the flow of the game was certainly true in the opening game of the Triton sectional with the Trojans walking away with a 19 point win, that was far from decided until the games final 3 minutes or so.

 

The Tigers came out with a solid game plan and coach Jeff Mitzner’s crew had Triton on their heels for the better part of three and a half quarters.

 

“We hit the boards hard we did what we wanted to do there. We were in our 1-3-1 exactly the way we wanted to be,” said Mitzner. “It was turnovers early in the fourth quarter that hurt us. We came down the floor and threw the ball away a couple times and that’s what we talked about that’s something that we can’t do.”

 

It was LaCrosse (6-16) challenging the boards and forcing the Trojans to the perimeter that kept them in the game despite some poor shooting. The Tigers could manage just 32 percent from the field on the night.

 

“I don’t know what it is about that first night of sectional but I thought our guys played a little timid offensively,” said Triton boss Jason Groves. “But give a lot of credit to LaCrosse. They limit you to one shot, they contest everything. It was what we expected of them.”

 

Triton (16-7) weathered the storm holding a 30-26 lead at the third quarter break until they could pull away with the win.

 

“We’re experienced and I think that’s where our experience comes in,” said Groves. “We may have been tentative but we didn’t hit the panic button either. We didn’t play our best and we still get a victory in the sectional opener.”

 

The hot three point shooting of Jordan Anderson and the play of Joey Corder who sat out much of the first half in foul trouble put the Trojans over the top late in the game.

 

“It’s kind of been the story of our team all year long. Who’s going to step up on any given night in any given situation,” said Groves. “He (Corder) played like a senior should he was very active really the only one taking it to the bigs inside, that was nice to see out of one of our seniors.”

Triton 49, LaCrosse 30

Score by Quarters

LaCrosse 10 15 24 30

Triton 13 23 30 49

 

LaCrosse (30) – Kiel 1 0-0 2, Harris 3 0-4 12, Claypool 0 0-0 0, Johnson 2 1-2 5, McCormick 1 1-2 3, Malecki 0 0-0 0, Spoljaric 0 0-0 0, Brown 0 0-2 0, Rosenbaum 6 2-4 14. Totals 13 3-8 30.

 

Triton (49) – Corder 4 6-7 16, Kaufman 0 0-0 0, Yeo 5 2-4 12, Anderson 3 1-3 10, Sellers 2 1-5 5, Bailey 0 1-2 1, Reichert 1 0-0 3. Totals 16 11-20 49.

 

3 Pt. FG – LaCrosse 1-10 (McCormick), Triton 6-18 (Anderson 3).

Rebounds – LaCrosse 32 (Rosenbaum 10), Triton 30 (Yeo 8).

Assists – LaCrosse 5 (Harris 3), Triton 14 (Anderson 7).

Steals – LaCrosse 4 (Harris 2), Triton 13 (Corder 5).

Turnovers – LaCrosse 19, Triton 9.

Fouls (Fouled Out) – LaCrosse 15, Triton 8.