Beau Hepler scores a fast break bucket while Pioneer’s Calahan Kindley looks on in a game at the Trojan Trench Friday night. (Photos by James Costello)

BOURBON — After banking in a pair of buzzer-beating 3s to close out the second and third quarters, when Pioneer’s Mason Hayden saved a ball from falling out of bounds and the Panthers got it in the hands of star guard Trey Waddups for one last look in Friday’s Hoosier North Athletic Conference-opener at Triton, Trojans head coach Jason Groves had an unpleasant flashback.

Fortunately for Groves and his players, that final Waddups desperation heave sailed errant, and Pioneer fell one buzzer-beater short, setting off a celebration by the home team as Triton claimed a come-from-behind, 47-44 win over the visiting Panthers at the Trojan Trench.

“I was reliving those two quarters,” said a smiling Groves of Waddups’ last ditch heave.

“I told the kids ‘When does the game end? The game ends when the buzzer rings.’ They could’ve had two looks; I think they had one good look there at the end… I was proud of our kids. Our kids battled.”

After surrendering the lead early to the visitors and falling behind by as many as 10 points, Triton (2-3, 1-0 HNAC) retook the lead with just 2:37 remaining in Friday’s contest.

Junior guard Beau Hepler put his team out front, 41-39, with a steal and a pair of free throws, and senior Ross Johnson gave Triton a little breathing room at 43-39 with two more charity tosses in the bonus at the 2:17 stop of the clock. Waddups’ old-fashioned three-point play at the 1:31 mark cut that advantage down to a single point, however, where it remained until Johnson converted on another two charity tosses with under 19 seconds left to play.

Drew Stichter steals a ball high in the halfcourt while Logan Nusbaum trails the play.

Calahan Kindley missed his shot from the lane on the other end, and a lunging Hayden saved the ball from falling out of bounds to give the Panthers (0-1, 0-1 HNAC) one last shot. But after banking in a buzzer-beating, three-quarter court triple to end the second period, Waddups’ long shot just ahead of the final horn missed its mark, and the Trojans celebrated their second straight win and first at home this season.

“We needed these two for our confidence,” said Groves of his team’s second win in four nights. “With playing Plymouth and NorthWood, OD, the front end of our schedule is tough, and sometimes that hurts your confidence but at the same time shows us what we really need to work on and get better. We know we have a long way to go. I credit the kids. I was kind of on them, and they kept grinding and getting better so all the credit goes to them.”

A revamped defensive effort in the second half helped the Trojans recover from a 30-19 halftime deficit Friday. The Trojans held Pioneer to just four field goals and 4-of-19 shooting after the break, including a 2-of-11 clip by Waddups, Pioneer’s leading scorer with 20 points Friday.

Groves believed that at least some of that second half defensive effort boiled down to confidence.

“The only thing I put on the board tonight was ‘effort’, and I felt like the first half — I don’t know if it was the lack of confidence, but if you don’t have confidence, sometimes that looks like lack of effort,” he explained. “So I go ‘You guys are good enough to win. You guys are good enough to be a good basketball team. You’ve just got to believe it.’ And I think the second half we did that.”

Triton scored at a 50 percent rate from the floor, meanwhile, knocking down 19 of its 38 shots at the game.

Ross Johnson pulls up in the paint while Pioneer’s Ezra Lewellen and Calahan Kindley and Triton’s Quentin Thornburg look on.

A big part of that offensive efficiency came courtesy of Johnson, who finished 9 of 12 shots from the floor on his way to a game-high 22 points in his second straight outing with more than 20 points following a 30-point performance at South Bend Career Academy Tuesday night.

“To be honest, the first quarter and a half at South Bend Career Academy he was not very efficient. He was forcing things, pushing it, and we said ‘We want you to be aggressive, but you’ve got to just be a little bit smarter with the ball.’ I thought tonight he did that,” said Groves of Johnson. “We were looking for each other. We were passing the ball a little bit better, just playing with more confidence and together as a team more.”

All told, the Trojans tallied 12 assists versus Pioneer, with Hepler passing out a game-high four. In addition to his ball-sharing, Hepler also converted on five of his own shots, notching 12 points, including a pair of big 3s in the second and third quarters.

“It was nice to see that,” said Groves of Hepler’s scoring. “Beau kind of was struggling with his confidence a little bit. He needed a game like this. That’s the kind of player he is, so hopefully he continues with that the rest of the year.”

Behind Waddups’ 20 points and 14 rebounds, Kindley scored 11 — including a buzzer-beating triple to close the third quarter — with two assists and two steals for Pioneer.

Dylan Hensley scored eight points on 50 percent shooting and hauled in seven rebounds with two assists for Triton.

With their second win in tow, the Trojans will take a break from HNAC play when they host Bethany Christian next Tuesday, then jump back into the conference at Winamac next Friday night.

“That’s one of our goals every year is to win conference. You’ve got to take one game at a time, and this was the first step,” said Groves. “We have a long way to go as a team and to capture that goal, but the kids are working hard and I’m proud of them.”

Dylan Hensley works in the paint while Logan Nusbaum and Gavin James defend.