Phone: 317-846-6601 Fax: 317-575-4244 Website: www.ihsaa.org
Blake Ress, Commissioner
_________________________________________________________________________
March 22, 2008
TRITON CLAIMS
FIRST-EVER CLASS A STATE TITLE
Class
A third-ranked Triton’s defense stifled Indianapolis Lutheran as the Trojans
captured their first-ever IHSAA state title, 50-42, capping a 25-2 season at
Conseco Fieldhouse. Third-year Head Coach Jason
Groves’ squad limited Lutheran to just 38 percent shooting from the field and
forced 14 turnovers in the victory.
Both
teams were playing in their first-ever state championship game.
After
Lutheran scored the first five points of the contest, Triton reeled off a 10-0
run spanning nearly seven minutes and held the lead the rest of the day.
Lutheran’s Eric Borst three from the right wing cut
the lead to 14-12 with 4:55 left in the second quarter, but Triton responded
with the final five points of the half to take a 19-12 advantage to the break.
Triton’s
lead remained seven at the close of the third quarter before a 10-0 spurt early
in the fourth quarter put the game away. Troy McIntyre and Jake Everett
combined to score all 10 points during the run. The 6-foot-6 Everett had 16
points, including hitting 5-of-6 at the foul line and McIntyre added 14 on
5-of-9 shooting. Triton’s Colton Keel added seven points and seven assists in
the victory.
Borst led all scorers with 19 points on 7-of-16
shooting from the floor and Zach Cutshaw chipped in
nine points and five boards.
Triton’s
slashing offensive attack led to a 21-6 advantage in free throw attempts as
they outscored Lutheran 16-3 at the charity stripe. Lutheran, which came in shooting better than 42 percent for the season from
three-point range, made just 5-of-20 tries on Saturday.
Lutheran,
ranked No. 10 in Class A, finished it’s
season at 22-5 under Head Coach Tom Finchum. The
defeat snapped Lutheran’s 10-game winning streak.
JACOB EVERETT OF TRITON NAMED TRESTER AWARD WINNER
Following
the game, members of the IHSAA Executive Committee named Jacob Everett of
Triton High School as the winner of the Arthur L. Trester
Mental Attitude Award.
The
award is presented annually to a senior participant in each classification who
was nominated by his principal and coach and has demonstrated excellence in
mental attitude, scholarship, leadership and athletic ability.
Everett ranks 12th in his senior class of 71
at Triton. He carries a 10.04 GPA on a 10-point scale
and plans to pursue a degree in secondary education at Bethel College.
He
is President of the local Key Club, and a member of the National Honor Society
and Student Council. Everett also
belongs to the Spanish, Science, and Art Clubs at Triton.
Athletically,
he has been a three sport athlete at Triton, participating in varsity football
for two years, junior varsity golf for two years, and varsity basketball for
four years.
“Through
a strong work ethic, a never-give-up attitude, and sheer determination, Jacob
has developed into a positive role model for generations to come,” says Triton
principal Michael Chobanov. “Regardless of the situation, Jacob has
developed the life skills to meet challenges head on, the intellectual ability
to develop and implement a plan of attack, and the mental toughness to see the
challenge through to a successful completion.”
He
is the son of Bryan and Jill Everett of Tippecanoe.
Indiana
Farm Bureau Insurance, the IHSAA’s corporate partner, will present a $1,000
scholarship to Triton High School in the name of Jacob Everett.
The
award is named in honor of Arthur L. Trester, the
IHSAA’s first commissioner who served the Association from 1929-44.
VSN MEANS ACTION PHOTOGRAPHY
Visit
our friends at Visual Sports Network, the
IHSAA’s official photographer for all state championship events and one of the
leading action photographers in the
CHAMPIONSHIP MERCHANDISE AVAILABLE
For t-shirts and other merchandise commemorating this year’s tournament or for any of our events, visit our friends at Morris, Inc.
STATE FINALS PROGRAMS AVAILABLE
Couldn’t
be there for the state finals? You can still purchase a copy of the official
souvenir program while supplies last! Programs are $3.00 if you purchase in
person at the IHSAA Office (
CLASS A POST-GAME QUOTES
Jason
Groves Triton Head Coach
“It’s
great for these kids. They work hard all
year long in the off season and they really deserve it. They’re the ones who put in the effort in the
gym each day.”
(on the defense)
“Our
main focus all year is to get after it defensively. We did a pretty good job on their shooters in
the second half.”
“After
getting beat last year on a last second shot by Oregon Davis, the kids really
dedicated themselves this year. They
deserve all the success they’re having.”
(on Lutheran’s run)
“Some
of these kids have been on varsity four years and there is not much they haven’t
seen. They adjust really well and are
unselfish.”
(on Senior Jake Everett, mental attitude award winner)
“He’s
an unbelievable kid. Not only is he a
great ball player, he’s just a great kid.
I don’t have any sons but he’s the type son you’d want to have.”
(on the fans)
“They
have been fantastic. Early in the year
we had a road game an hour away and we had more fans than the home team. They have been supporting us all year. They are a great community and we appreciate all
the support they have given us.”
(on Freshman Griffyn Carpenter’s
shot)
“He’s
come a long way for us. He played JV
most of the year. He’s performed so well
in practice and games we felt we just had to get him in there.”
Tom
Finchum Lutheran Head Coach
“On
defense Triton is very big and long.
They did a nice job defensively on the inside, but they also challenged
our outside shooters. Every time we had
a shot they had somebody in our face.”
“Offensively
it was tough for us the whole game. I knew
they were a very good defensive team. We
scored about what they give up in a game.
We started out tight and it was tough shooting in here especially when
you’re not used to it. Shooting has been
one of our strengths this season.”
“Defensively
we had to start gambling at the end.
Unfortunately that’s when they scored a lot of their points. We couldn’t let them take two to three
minutes off the clock on offense. We
were here to win. We weren’t going to
just sit in our zone.”
“We
are just very, very happy to get here and the whole Lutheran community got
behind us. They know there are almost
400 teams in the tournament and only eight get to get here.”
“We
didn’t execute the way we wanted to but I can’t fault our effort. This is the first time we’ve ever won a
sectional. Then to win a regional and
semi-state to get here was fantastic.”