Triton Central edges Eastern Hancock in disputed Sectional 43 thriller

Reports conflict over the final result of the Class 2A Sectional 43 quarterfinal between Triton Central and Eastern Hancock, with multiple local outlets and Triton Central’s own Instagram and Facebook posts reporting a 60-58 Triton victory, while a separate original report lists a 47-45 Triton win on a late Eli Sego basket. Greenfieldreporter’s box score lists Triton Central 60, Eastern Hancock 58 and shows quarter-by-quarter scoring of Triton 17-13-10-20 and Eastern 13-15-16-14.

Greenfieldreporter’s player lines show Kate Collier led Triton with 17 points, including 13 in the first half, Maryrose Felling scored 15, and Quinn King had 13. Triton’s box lists team totals of 21 field goals and 13-19 from the free-throw line, with five 3-pointers (Collier 3, King 1, Felling 1). Eastern Hancock’s Kenzie Koch led all scorers with 25 points (nine field goals, 6-6 free throws), Bella Sotelo and Kiersten Judd each finished with nine, and Becca Cooley had eight; Eastern’s team totals were 22 field goals and 10-16 from the line.

A play-by-play narrative from another local account describes the late sequence behind the 60-58 line: "Triton Central kept attacking and getting to the free-throw line and finally tied the game with 3:01 to go." The same account recounts that "Maryrose Felling broke a 54-all tie with 1:13 left with a 12-footer in the lane," and that after a defensive stop "Quinn King found herself at the free-throw line and hit one to extend the lead to 57-54." It continues, "Another stop led to King getting two more free throws - and she didn’t miss," and concludes, "Eastern Hancock never got a look at a game-tying shot and the Tigers advanced to the Sectional 43 championship game tonight with a 60-58 victory." That account also notes Triton converted 8 of 12 free throws in the final quarter and that King hit a half-court three at the end of the second quarter.

By contrast, an original, truncated report lists Triton as 47-45 winners and identifies senior Eli Sego as the player who "delivered the game-winning basket with 12 seconds remaining" while citing late defensive stops. That account lists Triton at 20-3; Greenfieldreporter and other postgame summaries place Triton at 20-4 and Eastern at 15-9.

Historical context in Greenfieldreporter’s coverage notes the teams have met seven of the last eight years in the sectional tournament, with Triton holding a 4-3 edge in postseason matchups and Eastern having won the previous three meetings prior to this game. Greenfieldreporter and other outlets say Triton would move on to face No. 8 Heritage Christian in the Sectional 43 championship at 7:30 p.m., with program history and a regular-season loss to Heritage (63-59 on Nov. 11) providing added stakes for Triton.

Because the accounts diverge on final score, location, and the identity of a clutch scorer, the official box score and confirmations from Triton Central and Eastern Hancock remain necessary to finalize the night’s result. Efforts are underway to obtain the official scorebook and postgame confirmations from both schools and the sectional scorekeeper to reconcile the 60-58 and 47-45 accounts before a definitive outcome is posted.