Austin Sellers lays in the first basket of the game for Triton. (Photos by Nick Goralczyk)

BOURBON – The Triton basketball team finally got to play at home Tuesday night and it was clear to see that boys were longing to play in the friendly confines of the Trojan Trench. After three-straight road games to open the season, Triton welcomed in Caston for its home opener and claimed a 53-27 victory.

The Trojans have yet to have a big night offensively and that trend continued against the visiting Comets, but the defensive effort was second to none for Jason Groves’ bunch in the team’s first home game since February.

“After the game against Oregon-Davis we looked at the tape and realized we had some guys that weren’t up to par to play varsity basketball consistently,” began Groves, Triton’s head coach. “We’ve really been hammering that in practice and I thought we came out tonight played well defensively. We really made it difficult for Caston.”

The Comets were held to just 33-percent shooting in the first half and only 35-percent for the whole game. Triton made 21 field goals for the game, Caston only attempted 20 shots through all four quarters.

Joey Corder makes an athletic pass for the Trojans.

Triton was efficient in nearly every area defensively. The home team only allowed Caston to grab two offensive boards and won the battle on the boards by a count of 22-15. The Comets committed a season-high 20 turnovers, Triton was still higher than desired with their giveaways at 10. Of the 20 turnovers, Triton was able to create 27 points, Caston accumulated 27 points for the entire game.

While it was not the offensive score-fest that Groves has been looking for, Triton still managed to move the ball around well and allow for multiple players to score.

Masen Yeo, Austin Sellers and Skyler Reichert all led Triton with 11 points a piece. Sellers led the team in rebounds with five and added three assists. Joey Corder led all players with four assists.  Three players tied with two steals each.

“I was hoping we would shoot a little bit better at home,” Groves stated. “We’ve been struggling with our shooting and that’s an area that I thought would be one of our strengths. Once we have that game where we start hitting, we’ll be really hard to guard.

“Joey (Corder), Austin (Sellers) and Masen (Yeo) can all hit from outside along with our other guys. So, we’re waiting for that game offensively. But, for now, I’m pleased. I think we got better tonight and that’s what I asked of our guys.”

Caston was led in scoring by Dustin Offenberger, who had a game-high 12 points. Alex Howdeshell led the team with three rebounds.

Triton (2-2) will pack up and hit the road once again on Saturday when it travels to take on Mishawaka Marian. Marian, currently ranked No. 9 in 3A, is averaging over 70 points per game offensively while only giving up 49.

What seemed to be easy for Triton’s varsity squad was even easier for the junior varsity team. The JV Trojans won 64-8 over Caston. Zac Pitney led all scorers with 14 points for the Trojans.

Dalton Bailey drives inside for Triton.