Triton Central's defense stifles Scecina to capture third sectional title in five years

INDIANAPOLIS – A fast start put Triton Central in control Saturday night and it never relinquished the lead over Indianapolis Scecina in a 37-30 victory in the Class 2A, Sectional 43 championship game.

The sectional championship is the third for the Tigers in the last five seasons and it came in Mark James’ 999^th game as a head coach.

Career game No. 1,000 for James will come Saturday at 1 p.m. at the Lebanon Regional against University.

Triton Central (16-9) avenged regular-season losses on back-to-back nights at the Christel House Sectional. The Tigers defeated the host Eagles, 48-47 in overtime Friday before knocking off Indiana Crossroads Rival Scecina Saturday.

“We won. It was a big game for us,” said James (photo), who is now 631-368 in 43 seasons as a head coach and 32-16 in two seasons in Fairland. “The kids have played hard for us all year, and we got better. We were lucky. We fought through all the illness. It was tough early but now we’re pretty healthy.”

Senior Silas Blair and junior Eli Sego combined to score 14 points in the opening quarter as the Tigers build a double-digit lead.

“We knew we had an advantage down low with me and Grant (Long) out there against their one (low post) guy,” said Blair. “We needed to attack down low and if they did collapse on us we would pitch out to the shooters. We had a good game plan going.”

Scecina hit a pair of three-pointers in the second quarter to keep it close at halftime, 18-12.

“It was such a mental game at this point because both teams were tired,” said James when asked how important it was to not surrender the lead. “I thought the kids fought through that really well.”

Blair scored back-to-back baskets in the low post within a minute on the scoreboard clock in the third quarter that kept the Crusaders from getting an opportunity to get the lead. The Tigers led 28-22 after three quarters.

“I’m proud of my team. When we are locked in, our defense is great,” said Blair. “We really leaned on our defense tonight.”

Henry Kemper cuts down a piece of sectional championship net Saturday at Christel House in Indianapolis.

A 5-0 run by Scecina early in the fourth quarter got it back to a one-possession game but the Tigers made plays and free throws when it counted the most.

Cael Butler hit a pair of free throws midway through the quarter to extend the lead back to three points. A Max Crouse drive and score, his first points of the game after scoring 30 in the first two sectional wins, pushed the lead to 32-27.

Triton Central held strong at the free-throw line from there, making five in the game’s final minute to seal the victory.

Sego finished with a game-high 14 points and added seven rebounds and two steals. Blair had 10 points and six rebounds. Butler and Crouse combined for 10 more points in the low-scoring affair that brought James his 13th sectional title in his Hall of Fame career.

“It’s always good,” said James. “These things (sectional titles) are hard to get.”

Freshman Jaylin Foster led Scecina (10-15) with nine points and three steals. Adrian Hill finished with eight points and five rebounds.

Lebanon Regional

University (photo) won its first sectional championship since 2022. The Trailblazers defeated Triton Central in the semifinal round of the Greenfield-Central Regional that year, 56-49.

The Trailblazers (17-9) also avenged an earlier-season loss to Indianapolis Ritter Saturday at Park Tudor in the championship game of Sectional 42. Max McComb led University with 15 points. Faisal Mohamud added 11.

University has wins this season over ICC members Scecina (64-52), Indianapolis Lutheran (60-45) and Monrovia (62-49).

The second game at the Lebanon Sectional Saturday afternoon will feature a Class 3A clash between No. 8 Indianapolis Crispus Attucks (19-6) and No. 11 Northview (24-2).

In other 2A regional games in southern Indiana:

• At Seymour, No. 2 South Ripley (23-1) vs. Forest Park (18-6)
• At Martinsville, No. 4 Parke Heritage (23-4) vs. Centerville (20-7)
• At Loogootee, No. 11 Linton-Stockton (20-6) vs. No. 10 Providence (17-4).

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