Grant Johnson and Triton will need to be solid on the boards if it wants to get past a very dynamic Gary 21st Century team Saturday at the Class 1-A Triton Boys Basketball Regional. (Photo by Mike Deak)

BOURBON – Having returned to a familiar ground, it would be easy for Triton to get comfortable with its surroundings. Not this Triton boys basketball team, which has worked harder than normal to get where it wants to be – that being alive at home in the Class 1-A regional this Saturday.

“These kids have worked very hard to get where they are,” stated Triton boys basketball coach Jason Groves after his team won its 12th sectional title Saturday night. “I don’t think they have, or will, take anything for granted just because they are at home.”

Triton (18-7) hosts the regional to which it will play at 10 a.m. Saturday. The Trojans will have a new challenger in front of them, taking on a Gary 21st Century program (18-6) that won its second sectional title in just its fifth year of IHSAA eligibility. The two teams have not met before, adding a newfound curiosity to what tends to be a somewhat familiar annual grouping of teams.

Gary, by all accounts, can fill it in a hurry. The Cougars are the second-highest scoring team in the state, posting almost 79 points per game, having crossed the 90-point threshold five times and the 100-point plateau twice, including its sectional win against Westville. But, Gary was held to just 54 points in its sectional championship win at Morgan Township, and averaged just 69 points in a pair of losses in spotlight games against Bowman Academy and Griffith earlier in the season.

Guard Eugene German is the engine for the Cougars, who is listed on Max Preps to be leading the IHSAA in scoring at 33.3 points per game. German is shooting 53 percent from the floor, scoring a whopping 765 points this season. The senior has scored 40-plus points seven times and 50-plus twice. He also offers 5.7 rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.1 steals per contest.

The Cougars have twin towers inside, with 6’5″ Tyree Booker (10.8 ppg, 9.7 rpg) and 6’2″ DeAndre Gholston (14.4 ppg, 9.9 rpg). Between the two of them, they have recorded 18 double-doubles and have 470 total rebounds. To put that into perspective, Triton as a team has 668 team rebounds and its top rebounder, Grant Johnson, has 130 this year.

Gary also has guards Core’von Lott and Armad Cathey with green lights to shoot, the two scoring 18.5 points a game combined and will dish on average seven assists. Lott is close to three steals per game and Cathey nets about two steals per game.

The battle of wills should collide, as Triton is adamant of playing its style of ball, which means defense first.

The Trojans are fifth in the state defensively, giving up just 40 points per game, and has made its reputation of shutting down opponents. Groves is unashamed of his defensive policies, which allowed just two teams to score 60-plus points this season. Two very highly-regarded and successful teams in Warsaw and NorthWood. Triton held 14 opponents at or below the 40-point mark, including all three of its opponents in the Bi-County championship and both sectional victories.

“We’ve got a lot of film on Gary, so they won’t be a total mystery,” said Triton senior Masen Yeo. “We know that if we play well defensively, we have a shot against anyone. We just have to listen to coach Groves and we should be OK.”

Yeo, Johnson and Jordan Anderson have been key to Triton’s most recent title run. The Big Three have averaged 37 of Triton’s 52 points per game, Anderson tops at 14.5 ppg. Triton may have to shoot over Gary to advance to the regional final, but Triton has hit 125 three-pointers this season, Anderson and Yeo accounting for 101 of them.

Groves noted in the sectional championship postgame the play of guards Jarrett Kreft and Zac Pitney along with forward Dalton Bailey were huge in getting the team through.

In game two of the regional, Fort Wayne Blackhawk (16-11) will meet South Newton (23-2).

Blackhawk steamrolled through its sectional to claim its tenth title, using the trio of Ben Walters, Ric Hall and Will Davidson as gangbusters. Walters, a three-point marksman, had five threes in the win over Elkhart Christian and 21 total points. Walters tied his school record earlier in the season with eight made threes against Heritage. Hall had 17 points in wins against Lakeland Christian and Elkhart Christian and Davidson dropped 13 points against ECA. The Braves are seeking its fourth regional title, but first since 2005.

The Rebels are experiencing its best-ever season, winners of 23 games when the program just three years ago was mired in a 49-game losing streak. Since then, the program has won 43 games, but has not ever won a regional title despite eight sectional championships in program history.

The Hammel brothers, Jared and Jay, are averaging 24.5 points and 12.9 rebounds per game combined, and John Dafcik and Skyler Sanders are both in double-digit scoring at 11.8 and 10.0 ppg, respectively. Dafick averages three caroms and Sanders 4.5 dimes per game.

The regional championship will begin at 8 p.m. at Triton, with the winner heading to either Lafayette Jeff or Huntington North for the semi-state, to be determined by the IHSAA Sunday.

Tickets for the regional are $10 and can be purchased at Triton and limited quantities will be available at the door.