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Fresh off an appearance in the semi-state round last year, the Triton boys basketball team has enjoyed a successful start to the 2025-26 campaign. Winners of three of their first four games, the Trojans played their second game of the week at the Trojan Trench on Friday night and took full advantage of loud and full crowd. Scoring the first 13 points of the game, Triton picked up its second conference win of the year with a 68-35 victory over Pioneer.
After going the first two minutes without a basket, the Triton offense attacked suddenly, rattling off seven points in 25 seconds to stun the Panthers into taking a timeout. The aggressiveness of the home side was paying off in spades, as two of the first three baskets they scored came off of offensive rebounds, while the third came off a turnover.
Two more buckets over the next 30 seconds quickly made it an 11-0 game just three minutes into the contest. Still dazed from the initial onslaught, Pioneer elected to take its second timeout in the span of a minute to try and stop the bleeding.
“Our defensive pressure really sets the tone for us. We want our kids to come out ready to go and be aggressive on both sides and I think we did that tonight,” Triton head coach Jason Groves said.
While the scoring slowed down for the Trojans afterwards, the team was still defending in an effective manner. The visitors were struggling to get shots up and the ones that were flying were not high percentage looks.
The impact player of the opening period was Julian Swanson, who did a bit of everything for the home side. Leading the way with eleven points, the senior guard also added some offensive boards and a steal as his team led 18-5 after a quarter.
He kept it rolling in the second, scoring five quick points, three of which came on a 25 footer. Three minutes into the period, Triton now led by 20 and was showing no signs of slowing down. Needing to start putting up threes in a hurry, back-to-back threes by the Panthers temporarily kept things from getting really out of hand.
But the constant pressure of the Trojans continued to break through. All five players on the court were a threat to make something happen on either side. With more than a few turnovers turned into baskets, Triton headed into the break up 36-16. Swanson was outscoring his opponent by himself, putting up 21 in the first 16 minutes.
“We have a lot of guys that are capable of going off. Tonight it was Julian’s night,” Groves said. “He was hurt and missed our last game so it was good to see him come back and make an impact.”
Triton senior Landon Patrick's layup is challenged by Pioneer's Phillip McFatridge during the first quarter...Nieter
Sophomore Brady Wood joined Swanson in double figures early in the third with his second triple of the night. As the quarter continued on, the Trojan lead hovered around 20 points for a majority of it. The home defense was still playing excellently, but the offense had slowed down a tad.
Whenever it looked as if Triton was going to extend its lead even further The Panthers continuously came up with shots to keep the deficit hanging around that 20-point threshold. However, the visitors were unable to get within 20 points, and with eight minutes to go, the home side led by 21.
Quiet through the first three quarters due to some foul trouble, sharpshooter Gage Riffle caught fire early in the fourth, hitting a pair of threes to push the lead towards 30. With the game well out of reach at this point, the Trojans emptied the bench with about four minutes left.
Even with the bench mob coming in, Triton didn’t miss a beat. The team was even able to extend its lead to 33 with just over two minutes left. In the final minute, with the game already decided long ago, the crowd was still going crazy as the Trojans scored their 67th point of the night.
Swanson finished the game with 27 points. Wood scored 13, while Riffle added eleven. Jayden Overmyer was the team’s leading rebounder with four.
Triton (4-1, 2-0 Hoosier North Athletic Conference) is at home Tuesday against Bethany Christian.
