At some point during Triton's run for the NJCAA Division II national championship, they were going to be challenged. That happened and more against the defending national champions Southwestern Iowa Community College in Friday's NJCAA national semifinal game at the Mary Miller Gymnasium in Danville, IL.
The Spartans made their first five three-point attempts to jump out to a 19-5 lead a little more than six minutes into the contest. However, the Trojans battled through the early adversity to quickly erase the deficit and won going away 85-67.
"Southwestern is a great program and did not win the national title last year by accident," said Triton head coach
Steve Christiansen. "The start of this game was the biggest punch we took by any team since November. But I think we saw that our guys are made of something special. I just like the fight in them."
Top-seeded Triton (32-4) advances to the national championship game Saturday at 7:30 p.m. to face the No. 2 seed, Pima Community College from Tuscon, AZ. The Aztecs (31-4) topped Delta College (MI) 102-94 in the second national semifinal game.
The Trojans were in major trouble early. In addition to the early deficit, starters
Najee Brown-Henderson and
Deonta Terrell were on the bench with two fouls apiece. Also,
Alondes Williams, arguably the teams best player had on off night with just two points in 12 minutes played. But what has been the case all season, Triton's depth prevailed as others stepped up led by inside presence of
Courtese Cooper and the red-hot long range shooting of
Corey Shepherd.
Cooper's size and length clogged the middle against the Southwestern Iowa guards with eight rebounds and three blocked shots. The 6'9" center also contributed on the offensive end with 12 points. Meanwhile, Shepherd was on fire, connecting on five three-pointers. Shepherd hit back-to-back triples during an 11-0 run by the Trojans to take their first lead of the night at 24-23 with just under nine minutes left in the opening half. The sophomore scored 17 of his team high 19 points during the first 20 minutes as the Trojans led 36-34 at halftime.
Then in the second half, Triton took control behind the play of Terrell. The NJCAA All-American candidate was more assertive attacking the basket scoring all 17 of his points after the intermission.
Still the game was close until the Trojans reeled off another 11-0 run to open up a 56-46 advantage with 10 minutes to go.
The Spartans (28-8) wore down later into the game. After shooting 48 percent (12-of-25) from the field in the first half, Southwestern Iowa shot just 31 percent (12-of-38) in the second half. Conversely, Triton was 55 percent (14-of-28) from the field in the first half and got better as the night progressed, shooting and a blistering 61 percent (19-of-31) the second half. The Trojans pulled further away down the stretch, holding the Spartans to just two baskets the final five minutes.
Martrell Barnes was strong inside for Triton with 11 points and 12 rebounds. Despite the early foul trouble, Brown-Henderson had another solid floor game with 16 points and five assists.
You can listen for FREE to all Triton national tournament games on WRRG 88.9FM Triton College Radio and online at tritonathletics.com! Sports Information Director and Region IV Hall of Famer Tim McKinney returns to Triton Radio to provide "The Home Team Call!"
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