By Dee Grenert Sports Writer
BOURBON — LaVille boys basketball head coach Michael Edison knows a thing or two about momentous games.
The Lancers’ shocking victory over previously-unbeaten Triton certainly qualifies.
With LaVille trailing by a point, freshman sniper Andrew Hostetler drained a go-ahead triple with 13 seconds left in the game and the Lancers held on for a 59-55 Northern State Conference upset win over Class A No. 2 Triton at The Trojan Trench Saturday.
“I played 40 games a year at Bethel and 20 to 25 games a year at Plymouth,” the second-year LaVille skipper said. “This ranks up there. This is in my top 5 all time, and it’s my biggest win as a coach. You don’t get a whole lot bigger than this. It’s pretty awesome, and I’m happiest for my players.”
After eight lead changes and five ties through the opening 24 minutes, Triton appeared to finally seize the reins. A 9-0 stretch, capped off by Curtis Nordmann’s steal and bucket, gave the Trojans a 55-45 lead — the biggest gap for either team — with 4:14 left in the game.
However, with fiery Triton senior point guard Ben Montalbano — a little too fiery Saturday — exiting late in the third quarter and sitting until 47.4 seconds remained in the game and leading scorer Griffyn Carpenter out for his third straight contest with a concussion, Triton went scoreless the rest of the way.
“We didn’t take care of the basketball,” Triton head coach Jason Groves said. “We had 19 turnovers, and we’re averaging 11 for the season. You don’t take care of the basketball you’re going to have trouble.”
The Trojans still held a slender 55-54 lead with a minute left in the game, but LaVille’s Justin Baker rebounded a missed Triton bunny, and following a loose-ball scramble in the backcourt — one of many during a sometimes sloppy game — the Lancers took possession under Triton’s basket.