By Jeff Robison
GREENCASTLE — All through sectional week, Tri-West coach Adam Bontreger had his concerns about the way the Bruins had been playing at the start of their games. On Saturday night, the Bruins gave their coach a reason to smile with a 15-2 opening run, a start that carried Tri-West the rest of the way to a 65-51 victory over the Speedway Sparkplugs and the 2010 Class 2A Sectional 46 championship.
In stark contrast to the earlier victories over North Putnam (started with a 13-4 deficit) and Monrovia (started with a 14-2 deficit), Tri-West was the aggressor off the opening tip. And though Speedway got back as close as three points (36-33) in the third quarter, he shared confidence in his team not losing its edge.
“As bad as our starts have been, that was a heck of a start,” Bontreger said. “We just switched some things up. But these boys were focused all week long. Just the look in their eyes, I could see these seniors wanted a sectional championship.”
Immediately after Speedway’s Jake Daghe drew the Plugs their closest with a three-pointer, the game’s momentum swung back to Tri-West — via an official’s call that both sides may have seen differently.
The Bruins’ Randall Lowe took advantage of a clear out on the right side of the floor and drove to the hoop for a layup. Speedway ’s Keenan Lewis attempted to step underneath and draw a charging call, but instead was called for a blocking foul — a call that Daghe protested and received a technical foul for.
“That was a critical play,” Bontreger said. “We got the basket and the technical, and that seemed to give us that extra boost that we needed.”
Tri-West took that edge forward to return to an 11-point lead (46-35), thus forcing Speedway into making another comeback attempt.
Jonny West, who led Speedway with 18 points, tried to carry his team back early in the fourth quarter as the Sparkplugs scored the first five points of the final quarter, getting back as close as 46-41.
However, the Bruins ended that surge with defense. Tyler Waite made back-to-back steals out of the 1-3-1 zone trap defense, leading to his own lay up and an assist on Caleb McVicker’s layup.
“We’ve been trying to find what’s right for these boys, and all along it’s been our 1-3-1 zone, and that really got us going,” Bontreger said. “Our defense was really, really difficult for them to score against.”
The sectional title provided a bit of redemption for the 2010 seniors, who won a surprise title as sophomores, but were thrashed by Covenant Christian in the 2009 title game.
“We kept pushing and kept pushing, and we never backed down,” Lowe said. “This was huge—we worked really hard and this was what we were working for. But, this isn’t it (for us) — we’re going to keep going.”
All of the later happenings were set up by the Bruins’ start, one that took a toll on Speedway later in the game. The Bruins showed balance with four different scorers registering through the initial run, topped by Andrew Keck’s six points.
Randall Lowe made a steal and lead pass to Caleb McVicker for a layup that put the Bruins up 10-0. It wasn’t until West scored on a drive with 4:11 left in the first quarter that Sparkplugs finally got on the scoreboard.
Tri-West finally peaked early when Waite hit a free throw that made it 15-2 for the Bruins.
Lowe paced four Bruins in double figures wth 18 points. Waite (13 points), Joe Pierle (11), and Keck (10) also crossed into double digits. Joining West in double figures for Speedway (17-6) was Lewis, who had 17 points.
The Bruins, now 17-5 for the year, advance to Class 2A regional play Saturday morning at Southridge High School in Huntingburg.
Tri-West will face Class 2A top-ranked Brownstown Central (Sectional 47 champion) in the 10:30 a.m. opening contest. Forest Park (Sectional 48) and South Knox (Sectional 45) will follow at 12:30 p.m., with the regional title tilt slated for 8 p.m.
