Eastern Hancock takes advantage of smaller Triton Central lineup for 58-49 win

FAIRLAND – Without a sizable inside presence, Triton Central was left very guard-oriented Saturday night against a familiar rival.

Eastern Hancock had no problem with that version of the Tigers.

Kayden Ruble, a six-foot, four-inch power forward, scored a game high 18 points and added 10 rebounds and two blocked shots to help propel the Royals past Triton Central, 58-49.

Landyn Loring followed with 14 points, including a 9-for-9 performance from the free throw line that helped ice the win in the fourth quarter.

Triton Central (10-7) played without starting forward Silas Blair, who suffered a right foot injury Friday in the loss at Indianapolis Scecina, and center Nate Long, who played just limited minutes coming off an illness.

“We didn’t do a good job doing the things we can control,” said Triton Central head coach Mark James. “We didn’t box out well enough and they got some easy buckets. … I thought we were mentally fried on some stuff. We are limited on what we can do right now because we haven’t practiced without those guys. You take 12-13 points and six rebounds off our chart, that’s hard to make up without practicing to do it.”

Eli Sego led the Tigers, who have now lost three games this season to potential sectional opponents, with 17 points and three assists. Max Crouse finished with 14 points and four rebounds, but the Tigers struggled from beyond the arc – and Eastern Hancock did not.

The Royals shot 55% in the game and hit 10 of 22 three-pointers (45%).

“We didn’t defend well enough and we didn’t find their best shooters well enough and we turned the ball over too much for no reason,” said James. “We played a little too fast on offense tonight for what we had and what are capabilities were on the floor.”

Triton Central finished 4-of-19 from beyond the arc, and without a low post presence, the Tigers struggled to maintain offensive consistency.

The game was full of back-and-forth action until Loring and Caden Powers made 3s in the final 90 seconds of the third quarter to give the Royals a 41-38 advantage going to the final quarter.

Another 3 from Powers midway through the fourth pushed the lead to eight and a Loring steal and score while being fouled produced a traditional 3-point play and the lead reached double digits.

Triton Central won the junior varsity game, 60-40. Chace Calderone and Landon Bailey each had 11 points to lead Triton Central.

Blair, who was on crutches and in a walking boot at the game Saturday night, will not be evaluated until the end of the upcoming week. He will not play Thursday when Triton Central hosts Covenant Christian (12-4).

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