ROCHESTER - Earlier this month, Triton's basketball team lost a game by two points in overtime and another on a last-second shot.

The worm has turned. At least it did Tuesday evening, when Triton (4-8) edged Rochester (5-8) 68-66. The Trojans won this one in the first 11 minutes, when they jumped ahead 28-9.

Never mind that the Zebras outscored Triton 57-40 the rest of the way. Triton coach Kevin O'Rourke remembers that 55-53 overtime loss to John Glenn and that 57-55 last-second loss to Bethany Christian.

This time, his team won a close game at the end.

"The positive is, we hung on and won," O'Rourke said. "This is the exact same situation that we'd been coming up short in. I'm proud of the kids for that."

Only hours earlier Rochester coach Scott Newcomb fretted about his team's interior defense. His concerns were legitimate early, as 21 of Triton's first 28 points came either in the paint or the free-throw line. And Triton was the smaller team.

All the hard work in building the 19-point lead nearly went to waste in the last 90 seconds of the first half, when Rochester closed the quarter on an 8-0 run.

Rochester's full-court press forced turnovers that helped the Zebras back into the game by halftime at 34-27. Rochester's last three baskets to end the half all followed steals.

"We were pressing and doing a good job, but more than anything, we were playing hard and using our athletic ability," Rochester coach Scott Newcomb said. "Then we get to where we're coming close, and we stop executing. When the game's on the line, you have to come up with the big plays. We're not able to."

Newcomb was referring to the fourth quarter, when his team caught Triton for the first time and took a 52-50 lead with 5:10 left.

And what did the Zebras do once they had their first - and last - lead? They handed it right back to Triton.

The Trojans responded with a 7-0 run to take a 57-52 lead. The biggest basket was a three-pointer by Matt Savill just seconds after Triton had tied the game at 52.

Down the stretch, Triton made enough of its free throws to escape with the win. Rochester had two chances to win the game in the last seven seconds, but Blake Newton and Seth Wilson each missed three-pointers.

And the Trojans had won their close game.

"This is a big win for our kids," O'Rourke said. "We talked about these last nine games of the year, we want to build tournament momentum. Sometimes you have to have a little Lady Luck on your side. I'm glad they missed their last couple of three-point attempts. My gut was in knots when the ball was in the air.

"Teams like Plymouth, teams that win every year, they get you down and know how to step on you a little bit. We have to learn to extend our lead or at least maintain our lead."

The key blow for Rochester may have taken place with 3:04 left. Kyle Schnitz, who had hit 2 of 3 three-pointers and was leading Rochester with 21 points, fouled out with Triton up 59-53. The Zebras could have used him late, but all he could do was look on from the bench.

Triton finished the game 29 of 44 from the free-throw line, while Rochester was 14 of 18. But 23 of Triton's 44 attempts came in the fourth quarter, when the Zebras were fouling to stop the clock.

Six of Rochester's eight losses have been by eight points or less. Close losses to John Glenn and Bethany Christian tortured O'Rourke. Now it was Newcomb's turn again, and it was all because of 28-9 11 minutes into the game.

"We didn't play very hard, and that's irritating to me," Newcomb said. "We don't prepare ourselves. We're going to have to do more conditioning in practice or something. Friday night, we'll be ready to play basketball, I guarantee that. There's no excuse for the way we came out and played. It won't happen again."

Savill scored 25 for Triton, while Austin Unterbrink added 16 and five assists. Schnitz's 21 led Rochester, while Deric Beck added 17.

Triton is at New Prairie on Friday. [[In-content Ad]]