Trojans Balance Too Much for Olive-Harvey

The Triton College men's basketball team's 104-70 victory over Olive-Harvey College Nov. 23 at the Collins Center provided head coach Steve Christiansen a chance to grant tuning-up minutes to his entire roster.

Better yet, the Trojan-wide contributions enabled Christiansen to fine-tune his team's play after an 88-83 loss to No. 2 ranked Florida-Southwestern College earlier in the week in the Pete Arrington Classic in Americus. Ga. Triton started to right itself immediately in an 86-74 victory Nov. 16 over South Georgia Tech.

"We grew a lot this week," said Christiansen. "We watched a lot of film this week. Honestly, I was disappointed in the way I coached them in terms of allowing some things that good programs shouldn't be allowing their players to do. We were too casual with the ball and too casual on defense."

"If you don't learn from the (Florida-Southwestern) loss, there's no gain, no benefit. From that standpoint, that trip was very worthwhile."

Christiansen themed the week to prepare for Olive-Harvey as "deliver the message." Consider it express delivery as the Trojans overwhelmed the Panthers from start to finish.

Every Trojan played at least eight minutes and scored. Seven scored in double figures. Triton overall shot 63 percent from the field for the game.

But the most important statistics were the nine assists dished out by guard Carlos Curtis (Milwaukee, Wis.) and five more by backup David Forrest (North Lawndale).

"Coach is calling numbers, and every number contributed today," said Curtis. "I feel like we're ready right now. We took a tough loss in Georgia. You can't take anything for granted. But that loss pushed us to this win."

Backup forward Forrest made the most of his 20 minutes of court time with 10 points, including a pair of three-pointers, along with six rebounds, tying for team leadership with fellow backup Trey Boston (10 points).

"That was a perfect team for me," said Forrest. "I have confidence playing hard every day in practice. It's a better mental state right now, seeing a couple of shots go in, making couple of plays for my teammates.  It just boosts my confidence."

Point guard David Swedura (Prospect), filling in for an injured Dannie Smith, led the Trojans with 19 points on 7-for-10 shooting.  Swedura hit a trio of three-pointers.

"I wouldn't say it was a perfect game for us, because there's always room for improvement," Swedura said. "But I feel the way we moved the ball around and got everyone included was good. It started on defense with our intensity pressing, that's what started our ability to be confident on offense."

Getting the entire roster involved can only pay off in the postseason three months down the line. And after sitting out as a redshirt at Southern Illinois University last season, Swedura feels he's back to his old rhythm.

"It's natural again," he said. "I love playing with a team that can share and play hard like I like to."

Christiansen was appreciative of how his bench responded when inserted in the game in the first half.

"We need to jump on them right away," he said. "It wasn't a perfect game. But it was a complete performance."

Up next for the Trojans is another City College of Chicago opponent as they'll visit Kennedy-King College Nov. 26 at 7 p.m.

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