Morristown earns rematch with Triton Central in championship game of Shelby County Tournament

FAIRLAND – Triton Central’s sustained excellence proved too much for Waldron while senior Brayden Keithley was a man on a mission to get Morristown past the semifinal round of the Shelby County Boys Basketball Tournament.

Postponed to Saturday due to a Friday afternoon snowstorm, Keithley outscored Southwestern in the first half of the first semifinal game at Triton Central. He scored 12 of his game-high 16 points in the opening 16 minutes and Morristown’s zone defense stifled the Spartans in a 52-29 victory.

Southwestern shot just 29% from the field and made just 3 of 19 three-point attempts.

Keithley was part of a balanced offensive effort for the Yellow Jackets (5-5), who have won four of their last five and will look to avenge a season-opening 64-35 loss to Triton Central Monday night.

Colin Kieninger finished with 13 points and nine rebounds. Kellen Crim had nine points, four assists and three steals.

Dalton McMichael added eight points and Owen Rinzel did not score but pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds.

Ben Kahler, who entered the tournament averaging 21 ppg, finished with 12 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for Southwestern (2-7). Mitchell Clements had seven points and four rebounds.

Southwestern will host Brown County (3-5) Friday and South Decatur (3-7) Saturday.

In the second semifinal, a highly-motivated Waldron squad went right at Triton Central. The Mohawks hit eight of their first nine shots in the opening quarter, including a trio of 3s, but only held a 19-17 advantage.

Prior to the start of the game, a moment of silence was held for one of Shelby County’s biggest basketball fans, Ralph Lux, who passed away earlier in the week. Lux, who was born with Down syndrome, served as Waldron boys basketball manager for more than three decades.

For more on Ralph Lux, go to: https://www.giant.fm/shelby-county/news/obituaries/ralph-edward-lux-67-shelbyville/

Five different Mohawks scored in the opening eight minutes, but Triton Central junior Eli Sego was determined not to let Waldron get away.

Sego was aggressive from the tipoff and scored 15 first-half points to go with three rebounds, three assists, one steal and one block to propel Triton Central to a 35-25 lead at halftime.

The Tigers shot 7 of 11 from the field in each of the first two quarters and matched that output in the fourth to pull away for a 76-58 victory.

“The biggest difference between us now and a month ago is we are shooting the ball pretty well,” said Triton Central head coach Mark James, who is trying to lead the Tigers to their third-straight county tourney title. “We are not turning the ball over as much and we are being more patient and making sure the right people are shooting the ball.”

Triton Central (6-5) made 7 of 12 3s in the opening half and finished 10 of 18 (56%) from beyond the arc.

Waldron had an opportunity to swing the momentum in the third quarter when Ethan Moody was fouled by Sego while shooting a 3. The sophomore hit just one of his three free throw attempts that cut the lead to 37-26.

Ray Wagner followed with his third 3 of the contest and the lead was eight and the Mohawks got possession once again.

Sego, however, deflected a pass and raced to his goal only to be grabbed. He hit both free throws and TC maintained possession on the intentional foul that resulted in Sam Collier scoring in the low post while getting fouled. He made the free throw and the lead quickly grew to 42-29.

Waldron never got closer than nine points the rest of the way.

Lucas Shaw led the Mohawks (5-6) with 18 points, five rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Wagner finished with 12 points (all on made 3s).

Eli Stewart scored 14 points as a freshman in his county tourney debut at the varsity level.

Waldron hosts Eminence (3-11) Friday and travels to Jac-Cen-Del (4-5) Saturday.

Sego finished with a game-high 27 points and added five assists, five rebounds, one steal and two blocks.

Cael Butler came off the bench and scored 12 points. Collier finished with 11 as did Max Crouse. Silas Blair added four points, five rebounds and five assists.

Sego had nine points, three rebounds, three assists and three steals in Triton Central’s season-opening win over Morristown on Nov. 27. Blair and Crouse combined for 23 points and Grant Long had 14 points and seven rebounds in his Tigers’ debut.

Morristown scored just 12 points in the second half, but James is concerned about the matchup because the Yellow Jackets are a different team now.

“That game means nothing,” said James. “They are playing with a lot of confidence. Coach (Cory Kreiger) is doing a great job with them. They are changing their zones. They are getting the right people shooting the ball and they are aggressive off the dribble. We will have our hands full with them for sure.”

Triton Central defeated Morristown, 43-36, in the 2024 county tourney championship game at Southwestern.

The Yellow Jackets last county title came in 2019.

GIANT fm will broadcast live both Shelby County Tournament championship games Monday from Triton Central. The pre-game show will start at 5:30 p.m. with the girls championship game between Waldron and Triton Central tipping off at 6 p.m. The boys championship game will tip off at approximately 8 p.m.