BOURBON – The Class 1A No. 10 Triton boys basketball team got a much-needed win Tuesday night at home against North Miami. After knocking off Oregon-Davis in its season opener, Triton (2-2) fell at Plymouth then NorthWood, but got back in the win column with a 75-44 drubbing of the North Miami Warriors (0-3). “We needed it, no matter how it was achieved,” Triton coach Jason Groves said. “We needed this victory just to get our kids some confidence and show them their hard work is paying off.” The win is Triton’s seventh-straight against the Warriors, who are on their fifth coach since their last win over the Trojans in 2005. Facing a struggling program, Triton showed no mercy. While North Miami was turning the ball over on each of its first nine possessions, the Trojans got off to an 11-0 lead. From there, the North Miami cheerleaders were fighting an uphill battle to keep morale up. After three quarters of play, Triton senior Clay Yeo actually held a 34-24 lead over the Warriors, and Groves emptied his bench for most of the fourth quarter. In just 22 minutes of action, the Valparaiso University-bound Yeo finished with 36 points, making 12 of 18 field goals and 11 of 13 free throws. “Clay did a nice job of letting the game come to him,” Groves said of the 6-5 guard, who also posted eight rebounds, three assists, three steals and two blocked shots. Senior Seth Glingle also caught Groves’ eye, scoring 12 points to go with five rebounds and three steals before fouling out. “He’s been playing really hard lately,” Groves said of Glingle. “I kind of talked to him about being our toughness leader – being a guy that’s getting on the floor and just battling. I think he took that to heart and has been doing that the past couple games.” Not being tested, Groves was more focused on how his team played than how North Miami played. “The one thing I was focused on tonight was ourselves,” he said. “How we came out. With what type of intensity? What type of effort?” And he liked how his team came out, even if things got a bit sloppy in the fourth quarter, when North Miami shot 15 free throws on eight Triton fouls. Up next for Triton is a tough contest at Class 3A No. 9 Mishawaka Marian, a team led by senior guard Demetrius Jackson, who’s committed to play at Notre Dame. Going into the game, the logical story line is Yeo against Jackson, two Division I players who played together on the same AAU team this summer. “It’s just about focusing on the team,” Groves said. “It’s not an individual game. The last time I checked, you have to play five guys. That’s what it’s going to be about. That’s what type of effort it’s going to take to knock those guys off. It’s about what’s on the front of the jersey, not the back.”
