The long anticipated season opener for the Triton College men's basketball team was worth the wait as the Trojans began the abbreviated season with a pair of impressive home wins January 22 and 23 over Bay College from Escanaba, Mich. Triton won each game by 30-plus points with victories of 88-50 and 98-55
Triton never trailed in both contests as in game one vs. Norse, the Trojans jumped out to a 15-0 lead. After a Bay timeout, the Norse showed some fight to battle within 27-16 before Triton ended the first half on a 27-7 run to go into halftime with a commanding 53-27 lead.
Kejuan Clements (Simeon) led the Trojan attack with 15 points, including four of five shooting from three-point range along with seven rebounds and four assists.
Raymond Grant (Perspectives) added 14 points and nine rebounds.
Teonta McKeithen (Ferndale, Mich.) finished with 13 points. Marist graduate
Morgan Taylor had 10 points, seven assists and four rebounds.
The rematch the next day with Bay was more of the same as the Norse no answers against the Triton full-court pressure, committing 28 turnover in the game. The Trojans cruised to a 44-14 halftime advantage and never looked back.
Five Triton players were in double-figures led by Clements with 19 points and five assists. Freshman forward
DJ Patrick out of Atlanta tallied 17 points. McKeithen scored 15 points.
Tre Wainwright (Silver Springs, MD) added 13 points, while Grant contributed 12 points and seven steals.
"It was so refreshing to watch our players finally be able to put the practice jerseys away and compete in real games," said Triton head coach
Steve Christiansen now in his 17
th season. "I was pleased with many things but also know there are many areas we can and will improve upon. With such a challenging schedule we have no time to rest and the way this group enjoys the work I'm excited to get back in the gym with them."
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