FAIRLAND – One of Triton Central’s worst quarters of the season led to its downfall Friday in the Class 2A, Sectional 42 semifinal round.

The Tigers missed all nine field goal attempts in the third quarter against Eastern Hancock and were outscored 15-2. A 27-24 halftime lead quickly disappeared and Triton Central never recovered in a 54-41 loss.

“That was fool’s good,” said Triton Central head coach Mark James of his team’s lead at halftime. “We were playing really well offensively but we were playing really bad on defense.

“We tried to talk to them about getting killed on the boards, not boxing out, and not helping right in a couple of positions and letting their shooters get their feet set.”

In the two teams’ regular-season meeting on Jan. 27, only one Royal scored in double digits and Eastern Hancock scored a season-low point total in a 48-28 loss.

On Friday at Triton Central, three different players scored in double digits and a fourth finished with nine points to propel Eastern Hancock into the sectional championship game.

Kayden Ruble had a team-high 17 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Eastern Hancock offense. Caiden Willis and Charlie Halcomb each scored 11 and Luke Schilling finished with nine.

Eastern Hancock shot 48% from the field and hit 7-of-16 three-point attempts.

“The last time we played them, (Willis) and (Halcomb) didn’t hardly score. I think they both got 11 on us (tonight),” said James. “That hurt bad.”

Silas Blair was aggressive early for Triton Central (16-7), scoring nine of his team-high 17 points in the first quarter. Four different Tigers scored in the second quarter and the lead grew to 26-15 with 2:48 to go in the half.

Willis answered with a score in the low post and was fouled. He converted the free throw. Luke Morris nailed a 3-pointer and Eli Manship put an offensive rebound in just before the halftime buzzer to get the Royals within three – and they were just getting started.

Triton Central’s only points in the third quarter were a pair of Eli Sego free throws late in the quarter. By then, Eastern Hancock opened up a 39-27 advantage.

“We went through a stretch where we couldn’t buy a bucket and that hurt us,” said James. “And they killed us on the boards. I knew before the game the boards were going to be a big deal. It seemed like every 50-50 ball they got.

“When you can’t hit shots I know that really plays with you mentally. I thought the kids played hard. We just didn’t hit shots.”

The Royals, who outrebounded Triton Central 25-18, had a 7-0 run early in the fourth quarter to close out the victory.

In Saturday’s sectional championship game, Irvington Prep defeated Eastern Hancock, 43-35. The Royals finished the season at 14-11.

Irvington Prep (16-9) will face Class 2A, No. 8 Park Tudor (19-5) at 4 p.m. Saturday in a regional championship game at Lebanon High School.

Triton Central will return its entire starting lineup next season. Graduation only takes Sam Kemper, who filled the sixth-man role for the Tigers this season.

“Sam is a great kid that worked really hard for us,” said James. “I am really happy he played this year. At one point in time he was thinking about not playing. He ended up being a big part of our team and doing good things for us off the bench. We have nothing but respect for him.”

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