Titan hoopsters play in honor of ‘SC12’

In “The Pit” at Triway High, a seat at one end of the boys basketball bench remained noticeably unoccupied. Head coach Ben Holt said it will remain that way all season long as the team and community remember one of the school’s most beloved Titans ever.

The empty gray chair was draped with a purple T-shirt bearing a large number “12” in white — the number “Mr. Triway” wore as the three-sport athlete who later became the school’s athletic director, head baseball coach and assistant basketball coach.

Sean Carmichael passed away unexpectedly just before the start of another school year this past August. Yet his spirit is everywhere as one of the most veteran and skilled Titan teams in recent history embarks on what is expected to be a thrilling 2019-20 journey.

The buzz is alive and well. The destination is the state tournament, where Triway recorded a pair of runner-up finishes in 2005 and 2006.

“This year is for coach Carmichael. Our motto is ‘SC12,’ and it’s all for him,” senior sharpshooter Bryce Biggs said after the Titans dispatched rival Northwestern 95-74 in the season-opener for both squads.

In his third year at the helm, Holt — hired by Carmichael — exudes a “deep run” vibe.

“We’ve got some talent. We’ve got some veterans out there because we only lost one senior going into this year,” Holt said. “But then I question why we give up 74 points, right? I think we’re more mature, so we need to see more of that maturity on the court, not just off the court. We need to see guys making mature decisions that show they have the experience and that they know how to play the game the right way.”

Biggs is one of four seniors on this year’s roster, along with Travis Burkholder, Chance Wells and Kyle Sturgin. The team returns seven letter winners from last season’s 14-9 unit that lost only Chance Lomas to graduation. Due to injury a year ago, Lomas saw limited action.

Mix in the talents of juniors David Nolen and Colton Snyder along with sophomore Channer Wells, and the recipe is potent.

In the lid-lifter against the Huskies, the trigger-from-anywhere Biggs led the way with 30 points, followed by Nolen with 23, Chance Wells with 19 and Burkholder with 10.

Biggs talked about the team’s closeness.

“It’s just a brotherhood,” the 6-foot-1 forward said. “We do everything together. We’ve been playing together since we were young. It’s the same as last year. Coach isn’t going to change anything. He expects us to play hard and defend. Our offense will be there.”

Unlike the Kaden Mellott-anchored Northwestern team of coach Mark Alberts, Jr., Triway does’t have a giant redwood to rule the lane and the boards. Yet Biggs is an aggressive rebounder, as are the 6-2 Chance Wells and athletic Nolen, also standing 6-2. Sturgin is the tallest among the starters at 6-3.

“Our first non-negotiable is hard work,” Holt said. “With defensive hard work each game, night in and night out, we feel we can give ourselves a chance to win. We’re not going to score 95 every night.”

On an emotional opening night, Holt found himself thinking of Carmichael.

“We’re just going to try to do him justice and work our tails off to win, just like he’d want us to,” Holt said. “He was such a relational person. He was able to build relationships and keep relationships, and guys loved him for it. He was a second dad to so many kids. He was almost like a father to me. And we’re going to miss that part. But our coaches who are around right now are doing such a great job of that as well. It’s going to be hard, but we’re trying to pick up the pieces and move on. He’d want us to do that.”