Connor A. McCann
Times-Union
LAFAYETTE — After rolling through Tri-County 78-46 in the opening round of the 1A semi-state at Lafayette Jefferson’s Marion Crawley Center, the Triton boys basketball team faced a much more difficult challenge in the form of upstart North Vermillion in Saturday night’s championship.
In a contest that resembled a heavyweight fight with both teams trading blows and counterpunches, it was the Trojans that emerged victorious with a 51-45 victory to head back to the state finals for the first time since 2013.
The game was tied with under a minute left before Gage Riffle hit the biggest shot of his life for the second week in a row: a corner three that put his team up for good.
“I can’t even describe the feeling. I know I’ve said that a lot but it’s true. I just want to give all the credit to my lord and savior Jesus Christ,” Riffle said after the win. “I put in the hard work every day, WE put in the hard work every day. I honestly can’t take the credit, it belongs to this team. We never gave up. I love these guys, and now we’re going to Gainbridge. It feels like a dream.”
For the Trojans, it’s the fifth time the program has made it to the state finals this century, all under Jason Groves. Next up, the team will try to win its first state title since 2008.
“It’s confirmation that when you work hard at something, when you dedicate your life to something, good things happen,” the head coach said. “These guys have done that. I remember coaching them in kindergarten and as they worked their way up. They work so hard, not just as a team but as individuals, and when you do that, it’s so nice to see things pay off.”
Greeted by an absolutely electric atmosphere, both sides spent the first few minutes of the game working out the jitters. The Trojans started well, hitting two of their first three shots but came up empty on the next few trips. Conversely, the Falcons began the game not able to buy a bucket before big man Andre Buchhaas hit a pair of shots down low to tie things up.
Along with his craftiness near the rim, Buchhaas’s size was also creating problems for Triton on the other end. Taking up a ton of room in the paint, the senior was inadvertently responsible for the home team relying heavily on perimeter shots in the opening quarter. With the looks not falling early on, it allowed North Vermillion to take an early 6-4 lead.
The defense of the visitors remained the focal point as the first period wound down. The Falcons were having trouble themselves getting shots to fall until burying the first three of the night with just over a minute of the first. After going nearly six minutes without a basket, Landon Patrick finally ended the cold streak for his team with a shot down low, but it was evident at this point that the Trojans were not going to cruise to their second straight victory of the day.
Even with so little going right offensively, Triton remained locked in on the other end and kept the deficit manageable heading into the second. But, just hours removed from scoring 25 points in the first quarter of Saturday’s semifinal game, the Trojans found themselves trailing 9-6 after eight minutes in the title fight.
“I thought [the slow start] was more on our lack of movement than whatever they were throwing at us. We knew they weren’t going to pressure us like Tri-County did,” Groves said. “They were doing a really good job of containing us early, which was frustrating for our guys because they’re so used to that pressure that they make one or two passes and score. We just had to be more patient.”
The blue and gold continued to play catch-up for the first few minutes of the second before they began turning their defense into offense. Back-to-back steals for Triton resulted in easy layups at the other end, allowing the home side to tie things up at 14 all. Jayden Overmyer, charged with the task of defending Buchhaas down low, was starting to play him incredibly physically, and with the referees letting it go, it was paying dividends for the Trojans.
“The mindset was to do everything in my power to deny him the ball and keep him out of the paint,” Overmyer said. “I did everything I could to not let him set up inside and when he did, I’m thankful my teammates were there to provide help.”
With just over three minutes before halftime, a layup by Riffle gave the home side their first lead since the opening minutes of the game. It didn’t last long, but Triton looked much better here in the second, largely in part to how strongly the team was playing at the defensive end. The game remained close, but after surviving a nightmare start to the game, it looked as if the blue and gold had shaken it off.
The final minute of the first half belonged to the Falcons, as the visitors hit a three from the wing to take a three-point lead into the break. Patrick had a chance to make it a one-point game just before the buzzer, but an obvious foul call was missed. After 16 minutes, North Vermillion held a 21-18 lead.
“We came in at halftime and kids were kind of complaining and bickering, we had to remind them ‘this is not going to be easy,’” Groves said. “‘Going to a state championship game is hard.’ We needed them to embrace the hard, have some fun with that, and I think in the second half we did that.”
Overmeyer was rewarded for his defensive effort in the first half with a pair of lobs early on in the second. The three-ball was still not falling for the Trojans here, but the ball movement was improving and it allowed the home side to operate much more efficiently on offense.
“It means a lot to me to be able to come up with those shots, but I have to give the credit to my team,” Overmyer said. “They did such a great job of screening me open and all I have to do is hit a layup.”
The size disadvantage that Triton was dealing with was nothing new for the team, but on this occasion, North Vermillion was able to take full advantage. The visitors began the third quarter by crashing the paint, and they were incredibly successful doing so. This opened up a ton for the Falcons, as with the Trojans now spending extra energy down low, North Vermillion’s shooters were now wide open at the perimeter.
Five minutes into the quarter, the visitors’ lead was now the largest of the game so far at eight. Needing something and needing it soon, Jamison Swanson buried a massive three for the Trojans after a steal by his brother Julian. After forcing a turnover on the other end, Riffle hit another layup to shrink the deficit to just two.
“We’ve learned that to win a game, you have to play for all four quarters. We’ve found ourselves in these spots before,” Riffle said. “It’s a testament to these guys and what we do.”
With the Triton faithful beginning to make themselves heard once more, the Falcons used a much-needed timeout to try and stop the bleeding. It didn’t work though, as a steal and score by Patrick tied things up with 90 seconds left in the period.
After trading makes at the charity stripe for a good chunk of the final minute, Jamison came up with a massive shot to end the third quarter. Getting the ball with about six seconds left, he raced down the court and unleashed it about 10 feet from beyond the arc. The sophomore hit nothing but net, giving his team a 35-33 lead with Gainbridge Fieldhouse just eight minutes away.
“I just tried to give my team the spark that we needed,” the sophomore said. “I’m just happy I could do it for the seniors and help them reach our goals. If there’s a word that describes this team, it’s resilience. We’re hard to get rid of. We just keep fighting.”
Having completely flipped the script on their opponents, the Trojans were beginning to feel it. Four straight points by Julian to begin the fourth quarter put the home side up by six with six minutes left. Now holding an advantage, Triton began to take the air out of the basketball on the offensive end. The home side was content to burn time off of the clock as long as the possession ended with points, and early on, that was the case.
On the other end, Buchhaas was doing everything he could to keep his team in striking distance. The 6’6” senior was able to make it a two-point game with a little over five minutes to go, but it was quickly answered at the other end by Riffle finally burying his first three of the game.
With their season on the line, now it was the Falcons turn to try and stage a comeback. It didn’t take long for the visitors to make a dent in Triton’s lead, as over the next minute, North Vermillion scored five straight points to make it just a one-point affair with 2:35 to go.
After both teams traded baskets with the moment growing ever larger, it remained a one-point game with 90 seconds left. Getting a crucial defensive stop, North Vermillion headed to the line with 1:06 to go. The Falcons had a chance to take the lead here, but thanks to a lane violation, the visitors had to settle for a tie.
Even after an uncharacteristically tough night shooting the basketball, when the ball made it into the hands of Riffle in the final minute, he didn’t hesitate. The senior connected from the corner with just over 45 seconds left to put Triton up by three. After a miss at the other end, the visitors would be forced to play the foul game.
Patrick split a pair to go up by four. Running out of time the Falcons were rushing offensively, and the two threes they chucked up were not even close. Getting the ball back and passing up court to burn some clock, the Trojans were sent back to the line with 13 seconds left and a chance to ice it.
Brady Wood did exactly that. The sophomore came up clutch on the two biggest free throws of his life to finish things off for good and send Triton back to the state finals.
Riffle had a team-high 14 points in the victory. Julian Swanson and Overmyer each had 10. Patrick dished out six assists to go with seven points. Buchhaas had a game-high 19 points and eleven rebounds.
Triton (25-3) will head down to Gainbridge Fieldhouse on Saturday to take on Barr-Reeve (27-1) in the 1A state championship game.
