H.S. boys basketball: Defense carries Falcons to tourney title

Scott Davidson, South Bend Tribune
·4 min read

LAKEVILLE — Once they locked down on defense Saturday night, the John Glenn boys basketball team locked up yet another TCU Bi-County Tournament championship.

The unbeaten Falcons relied on their trademark effort on the defensive end to turn back Triton 52-35 in the title game at LaVille High School.

John Glenn’s Silas Kaser (3) is fouled by Triton’s Connor Large (33) in the third quarter of the TCU Bi-County Boys Varsity Finals Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, at LaVille High School.
John Glenn’s Silas Kaser (3) is fouled by Triton’s Connor Large (33) in the third quarter of the TCU Bi-County Boys Varsity Finals Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, at LaVille High School.

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Senior Silas Kaser scored 16 points and junior Noah Dreibelbeis and senior Joe Delinski each added 13 as Glenn claimed its fourth straight tourney title.

But it was the work on defense that won this title tilt.

The Falcons, ranked No. 2 in Class 3A and now 15-0, allowed the shorthanded Trojans to score just 19 points in the final three quarters. Triton, which had lost 51-38 at Glenn back on Jan. 7, managed just seven field goals in the final three periods of play.

"Defense has been our calling card and we played it well tonight," said Glenn coach Travis Hannah, whose team entered play Saturday night allowing 40 points per game. "I thought that we locked down well, especially in the second half.

"I thought that it was just a great team effort tonight. It was fun to see the balance scoring we had and not just relying on one or two guys to score for us."

Triton, which had just six players available due to illness and COVID protocols, used a 8-0 run to end the opening period to take a 16-14 lead.

The Falcons answered right back with a 9-0 run to open the second period en route to a 25-19 halftime advantage. Triton, after hitting 6-of-8 shots in the first period, was just 1-of-11 from the field in the second stanza in scoring just three points. Delinski had 11 points in the opening half to pace the Falcons.

John Glenn’s Joe Delinski (12) pulls down a rebound in front of Triton’s Bruce Johnson (22) in the second quarter of the TCU Bi-County Boys Varsity Finals Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, at LaVille High School.
John Glenn’s Joe Delinski (12) pulls down a rebound in front of Triton’s Bruce Johnson (22) in the second quarter of the TCU Bi-County Boys Varsity Finals Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, at LaVille High School.

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Glenn used a strong finish to ice the win. The Falcons outscored the Trojans 15-5 in the final period to pull away to the convincing victory. Kaser scored eight in the final period for the champions, who hit 15-of-17 free throws in the contest to just 2-2 for the Trojans.

The Falcons showed their offensive capabilities with top scorer Brycen Hannah double and triple teamed. The 6-4 junior, who was averaging 18 points a game finished with three points.

"We picked it up on defense and played well in the second half," said Kaser, who was named MVP of the tourney. "There's a big target on us, but this team just keeps playing well. Noah stepped up and had another big game and so did Joe."

Triton’s Tyson Yates (24) attempts a three point basket in the fourth quarter of the TCU Bi-County Boys Varsity Finals Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, at LaVille High School.
Triton’s Tyson Yates (24) attempts a three point basket in the fourth quarter of the TCU Bi-County Boys Varsity Finals Saturday, Jan. 22, 2022, at LaVille High School.

Tyson Yates, one of six seniors, led Triton with eight points.

Veteran Triton coach Jason Groves saw his team fall to 9-3 with two losses to Glenn and the other to Class 3A No. 1 NorthWood.

"They're just good defensively," said Groves of the Falcons. "They are just solid at every position. Their size and physical strength wore on us, especially with only six players available tonight.

"We just had to work so hard to score tonight and a lot of that was them. They just have multiple guys who can do things for them. We knew we had to take Hannah away and other guys hit shots. Credit them."

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The Falcons, who are 6-0 in Northern Indiana Conference play, now face the meat grinder of their schedule. Glenn hosts Class 3A No. 3 Marian Tuesday and then plays at Adams Friday and hosts Penn Feb. 3 in NIC matchups. Marian beat Penn 69-59 Friday night to move to 5-0 in the NIC. The Kingsmen are 5-1.

Coach Hannah says though his stellar squad needs to take a moment to enjoy this championship despite what lies directly ahead of them.

"We're going to enjoy this moment," said Hannah, now in his 15th season at Glenn. "Winning high school games is not easy."

Triton senior Connor Large earned the W.B. Hawkins Award from TCU for the boys portion of the tournament.

JOHN GLENN 52, TRITON 35

At LaVille

GLENN (52): Silas Kaser 4 8-8 16, Noah Dreibelbeis 5 0-0 13, Joe Delinski 5 2-2 13, Brycen Hannah 1 1-3 3, Jack Porter 1 2-2 5, Joey Shoue 0 0-0 0, Braylon Smith 0 0-0 0, Joe Chrapliwy 0 2-2 2. TOTALS: 16 15-17 52.

TRITON (35): Ashton Oviedo 3 2-2 9, Bruce Johnson 3 0-0 7, Tyson Yates 3 0-0 8, Cole McKinney 2 0-0 5, Caden Graham 2 0-0 6, Connor Large 0 0-0 0. TOTALS: 13 2-2 35.

Glenn | 14 | 25 | 37 | 52

Triton | 16 | 19 | 30 | 35

3-point goals: Glenn 5 (Dreibelbeis 3, Delinski, Porter), Triton 7 (Johnson 2, Yates 2, Graham 2, Oviedo). Team fouls (fouled out): Glenn 10, Triton 15. Team records: Glenn 15-0, Triton 9-3.

This article originally appeared on South Bend Tribune: Undefeated John Glenn won the TCU Bi-County Tourney title Saturday night