LAKEVILLE, IN. – Entrenched in a battle with rival Triton to start the game, LaVille head basketball coach Michael Edison watched as his squad went on an 18-0 run to close the first half. It was the Lancer defense creating the offense during a 3:48 stretch that helped the Lakeville hosts gain momentum that led to a 51-35 Hoosier North Athletic Conference victory at Dale E. Cox Gymnasium. “It was fun to see our guys do what I know they are capable of doing,” Edison said when asked about a crucial stretch in the game. “We have some length and some guys that are able to anticipate extremely well and it paid off for us. We got Triton frustrated, which helped catapult us moving into the second half.” LaVille’s defense forced four turnovers and held Triton to 0-for-4 from the field during the uprising. Meanwhile, the Lancer offense missed just once in eight attempts from the field, including hitting six buckets inside the lane. “I was very happy with their focus level even before the game got started,” explained Edison. “I thought the second quarter was huge for us as we were able to virtually keep Triton from scoring, get a lot of deflections and steals, and were able to capitalize on the offensive end.” Able to execute both offensively and defensively during the run were Michael Good in the lane, a big offensive rebound by Collin Czarnecki that turned into an assist on Lucas Plummer’s 3-pointer, Good again on a lay-up and-one, Owen Smith on a steal and lay-in, Czarnecki on nice move along the right baseline, and Plummer on a steal and lay-up. Smith closed up the scoring when he again picked a Triton pocket and took and converted an uncontested shot with 32.6 seconds left in the half. Czarnecki and Smith both hit buckets during the rally that helped create space heading into the locker room. The Lancers were able to push the lead to 25 points early in the third quarter and maintained a solid lead to keep the Trojans at bay for the remainder of the game to pick up the HNAC victory. Edison was pleased with his squad’s focus to start the game. “If our guys wouldn’t have had the right focus level and mindset that game very easily could have come right down to the wire or gone the other way,” said Edison. “I don’t think in my 15 years of playing against Triton we have ever had a comfortable lead like we did in that game. Even though we were up a considerable amount I didn’t feel comfortable until there was about one minute left in the game.” Good and Czarnecki led the Lancer offense with 16 points each. Plummer had eight points, Smith six, and Ross Wagoner three. The victory was a nice way to celebrate ‘Senior Night’ for LaVille. LHS will say goodbye to five seniors at the end of the season. Collin Allen, Ryan James, Noah Rush, Owen Smith, and Ross Wagoner are all set to pick up diplomas in June. “I always want our seniors to be able to go out on top,” Edison said of his seniors. “These guys have worked extremely hard and deserve a night like that! I have five amazing seniors on this year’s team and to see them experience that kind of success against a big rival of ours was pretty special.” LaVille improved to 11-9 overall and 3-3 in loop play. Triton fell to 10-8 overall and 4-2 in the HNAC. The Lancers headed to Whitko for a non-conference road game Saturday night. LAVILLE 51, TRITON 35 At Lakeville Triton 8 13 25 35 LaVille 13 35 45 51 Triton – Isaac Quintana 0, Dante Workman 4, Julian Swanson 0, Evan Briles 0, Caden Large 0, Cole Shively 17, Wayne Reichert 0, Jacob Pitney 6, Gage Riffle 0, Cam Callahan 0, Anthony Schuh 8. Totals: 13 6-10 35 LaVille – Lucas Plummer 8, Ryan James 2, Owen Smith 6, Ross Wagoner 3, Collin Allen 0, Collin Czarnecki 16, Michael Good 16, Cody Allen 0, Avery Garrett 0, Noah Rush 0, Brayden Schwitz 0, Braedyn Foster 0. Totals: 18 11-15 51 3-point field goals: Triton 3 (Pitney 2, Shively), LaVille 4 (Plummer, 2 Wagoner, Good) Total fouls (fouled out): Triton 13 (none), LaVille 11 (none)