BOURBON - Triton boys basketball coach Jason Groves told senior A.J. Harrison if he could hold Plymouth standout Randy Davis under 25 points he had done a great job.
Harrison and his teammates did better than that, limiting the ultra-talented Pilgrim senior to a mere six points, as the Class 1A ninth-ranked Trojans hosted and defeated 3A No. 3 Plymouth 44-36 Tuesday night in front of a lively crowd in Bourbon."Harrison did a heck of a job on Davis," said Groves, whose team improved to 2-0 by beating defending Class 1A state champion Oregon-Davis 78-24 in Friday's season opener and defending 3A state champ and Marshall County rival Plymouth Tuesday. "Defensively, we did a great job on Davis. I told A.J. if he could hold Davis under 25 he'd done a great job."
Davis, who scored 28 points in last year's state championship game against Evansville Bosse, was just 1 of 10 from the field against Triton.
He missed his first nine shot attempts and didn't score from the field until there was just 1:18 remaining in the game.
How effective was Triton's defense?
Pretty effective, according to interim Plymouth coach John Scott, an assistant for 30 years under the retired Jack Edison but now the man in charge after Michael Edison was dismissed from his position prior to the season.
"Pretty effective when you've got your hand in his jersey all night," said Scott. "The guys in stripes didn't come out and set the tone early like the players did. They were letting them play early. I guess as a coach and as players we're going to have to figure out how they're going to call the game."
Plymouth was called for 20 fouls in the game, while Triton was whistled for 15 fouls.
Davis picked up his fourth foul with 1:27 to play in the third quarter and fouled out of the contest with 21 seconds to play in the fourth when he made sure Triton senior Troy McIntyre didn't convert his breakaway dunk attempt.
McIntyre did convert both free throw attempts, however, giving the Trojans a 42-31 advantage.
Triton led by as much as 13 points, 38-25, in the fourth quarter.
"Our kids worked so hard over the summer and they work so hard in practice," said Groves, whose team without a senior lost 49-47 in the sectional championship last year to Oregon-Davis. "I told the kids team's are just going to roll over for us, they're going to have to work hard, and they have. They deserve this success. They've worked hard and they deserve this."
The win marked just the third time that Triton's basketball team has defeated Plymouth, which holds a commanding 45-3 lead in the all-time series.
Triton's other wins came in the 1964-65 season and in the 1989-90 season.
With the win, Triton started the season 2-0 for the first time since the 1980-81 season, when the Trojans opened with victories over Caston and Bremen.
Though disappointed his team lost, Scott said he understood Triton's enthusiasm.
"I feel very happy for Triton," said Scott. "I went to a small school myself, I know how they feel, being a small county school beating the big school."
Triton led 11-7 after the first quarter, 17-13 at halftime and 25-19 going into the final quarter.
While the Trojans scored 78 points in their season-opening blowout win over Oregon-Davis, Tuesday's game was a defensive battle.
"I thought if we got the game in the 60s we'd have a better chance," Groves said when asked if he was hoping for a low-scoring affair. "I thought we could get out and score, that surprised me. But we're going to enjoy this win, these kids have worked hard and deserve this."
Triton's defense frustrated Davis and the rest of the Pilgrims, who finished the game 12 of 37 from the field. Plymouth was just 5 of 18 from three point-range and converted just 7 of 14 free throw attempts.
The Trojans, however, made 13 of 24 field goal attempts. Triton was 2 of 4 from three-point range and 16 of 19 from the charity stripe.
In the second half alone, Triton was 15 of 18 from the free throw line.
"In the second half we were 15 of 18 at the free throw line," said Groves. "I thought that was a big key."
Senior Jake Everett, who recently signed to play basketball at Bethel College, led Triton with 15 points and also pulled down six rebounds.
McIntyre finished the game with 14 points and a game-high seven rebounds. Harrison chipped in with eight points, while junior Colton Keel scored five points and Joe Meister added two points.
For Plymouth, Nick Neidlinger led the way with 18 points, while Austin Hodges and Davis scored six points each and Brandon Elliott and Ryan Welch scored three points each.
"They're one of the top five teams in 1A right now," Scott said of Triton. "Just being around for almost 30 years, I know what good is, and Triton is a very good basketball team."
Triton will be in action Friday when it hosts NorthWood. Plymouth will host Rochester Friday.
