When a pair of evenly-matched Top 25 teams square off, "little things that add up," in the words of Triton College men's basketball coach
John Clancy, can take away an edge along with single hot hand end up making the difference.
Such was the case in Triton's hard-fought 77-74 loss to Indian Hills Community College of Ottumwa, Iowa Jan. 13 at the Collins Center.
The No. 15 Warriors and No. 23 Trojans had fought to a 74-all draw on Triton guard
Brandon Muntu's jumper with just under a minute to go.
Triton (13-3) had to play from behind most of the night, thanks to an early Indian Hills (14-5) strategy to bottle up
Deangelo Elisee, at 6-foot-9 the top big man on the court. However, after a late flurry enabled the Trojans to wipe out a seven-point deficit with the clock running down, Warriors guard J'Vonne Hadley, in rhythm most of the night; hit a jumper from the corner with 34.9 seconds left for a 76-74 lead.
The Trojans tried to answer as Elisee put on a good move inside, but his shot attempting for another tie rimmed out.
"We got a good look at the end," said Clancy.
Hadley then hit a free throw for the final score, finishing with a game-high 19 points.
The loss in the hard-fought game snapped Triton's seven-game winning streak in the first-ever visit of Midwest power Indian Hills to River Grove.
The game left Clancy wanting more.
"I thought that was a high-level junior-college game," he said. "We've got to find a way to win these games."
The Warriors, one of the NJCAA's top defensive teams, "looked like they built a wall in the paint in the first half" to slow down Elisee, said Clancy. "They had a bunch of little gnats going at Deangelo.
"You send a double moving away from the opposing team's weakest shooter. It's a trap and a swarm. Now you're making big players who's used to catching and scoring put the ball on the floor, or passing off. They did a good job shrinking the floor in the post. "
Triton had some defensive feats of its own, such as holding three-point-happy Indian Hills to 6-for-17 from beyond the arc. However, all four of Taj Anderson's baskets (out of eight attempts) came from three-point range and at opportune times for the visitors.
The Trojans also out-rebounded the Warriors 44-26, but negated some of that advantage with 18 turnovers.
Cam Denson used his 6-foot-7 frame to his advantage off the bench to lead the Trojans with 18 points. Guard
JJ Kalakon had a good all-around night with 17 points and seven rebounds. Muntu had eight points off the bench, matching the production of Elisee and
Cobie Montgomery.
Patrick Suemnick was productive in the middle with eight rebounds and three blocked shots.
Triton will have a chance to return the favor to the Warriors as the teams will meet again to conclude the regular season Feb. 19 in Ottumwa. Indian Hills is one of three Iowa Division I schools along with Marshalltown and Southeastern to have home-and-home schedules this season with Illinois Division I opponents to beef up their strength-of-schedule ratings.
Clancy will also have to move forward without highly-rated freshman guard
Kimahri Wilson of North Chicago. Suffering from a torn left meniscus with surgery a possibility, Wilson likely will qualify as a medical redshirt with up to two more seasons of junior-college eligibility.
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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)
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