Jordan Anderson

BOURBON – Thankfully for the Triton boys basketball team, the sectional is played in March and not December.

The Trojans, 4-5 after Christmas break officially ended Jan. 3, have been on a roll ever since. Triton won six of its next seven games, navigating through the Northern State Conference all the while. Heading into the final two weeks of the season, the Trojans have moved to 14-7 overall after its win against Northfield and are just a win at Knox this Friday away from locking up at least a share of the final NSC title before the league disbands this summer.

Needing to get that chemistry, and some injuries, in order, Triton is hitting its stride with a healthier and more balanced lineup.

“This is truly a team,” stated head coach Jason Groves. “I think it has really been obvious with all the injuries we’ve had. Each night, it is someone different doing the scoring, rebounding, passing, and even the leading.”

Injuries to Masen Yeo, Joey Corder and Skyler Reichert throughout the season have all been bothersome, but others have absorbed the workload.

Groves has been the benefactor throughout most of his 10 years with the program to have a go-to guy that will do the lion’s share of the spotlight work. Not so with this bunch, but Groves likes that mentality. He points out the contributions by Yeo, Austin Sellers, Grant Johnson and Landon Kaufman to be just as important as the three-point shooting of Reichert, the glasswork from Corder and the point guard work from Jordan Anderson.

Triton will host the IHSAA Class 1-A Sectional No. 51, one traditionally loaded with frontline programs. This year, only two teams are guaranteed to be at or above .500 – Triton and South Central – and the defending sectional champion, Culver, has struggled to recover from the graduation loss to Trent Elliott.

The Trojans are 4-0 against the sectional, including two wins over Culver, but Groves isn’t ready to celebrate a potential 12th sectional title for the program just yet. Having been on the losing end of the first-round out last year to Elliott and Culver, it was a hard lesson to his returning roster.

“We are really glad to be hosting sectional once again,” Groves said. “There is a familiarity at home that is calming, and I think the pressure is off us this year after losing last season to Culver. After winning six sectionals in a row, I think there was some pressure on our kids to maintain that success last year. However, this is a new year, and I would like to think our kids will be more hungry than nervous.”

Triton will play LaCrosse in the first game Tuesday, a 6:30 p.m. start. Argos and Oregon-Davis will meet in the second game Tuesday. Culver will await the Triton-LaCrosse winner Friday in the first semi-final at 6:30 p.m. and South Central will take on the Oregon-Davis-Argos victor. The sectional final at Triton will begin at 7 p.m. Saturday.

Groves points to rosters, not records, as his focus. Oregon-Davis, which Triton clobbered by 19 points the first game of the season, has been improving according to Groves and has won four of its last five games heading into the second-to-last week of the season. The familiarity Culver and Argos have with Triton is something Groves noted, “both teams know us so well, and they are really solid, fundamental teams capable of beating anyone on any given night. This will be a tough sectional.”