Men's Basketball rallies from 18 down to stun Kankakee

The night class at Triton College on Dec. 8, was simply called Basketball 101.

The lesson learned at the Collins Center Gymnasium, turned classroom by the Trojans men's basketball team is you play for 40 minutes and don't give up if you fall behind by 18 points early in the second half.

Triton stumbled around for much of the first half and opening minutes after the intermission before staging their best run for the season to stun Region 4 Division I rival Kankakee Community College 68-58. The Trojans (9-3) took the visiting Cavaliers (8-5) to school with a 33-4 run midway through the second half to quickly wipe out a 48-30 deficit.

"It was a different team in the second half," said Triton head coach John Clancy. "We've got to be a 40-minute team. We've got to play better than in the first half. I think the schedule we played in November helped us win this game in the second half. Our guys decided to fight and be tough in the second half."

The re-match of last February's regional championship game, captured in a 92-65 run-away by the Trojans, was far more dramatic. Kankakee set up the amazing comeback by erasing an early 9-4 Trojans lead to storm ahead 40-28 at halftime. Isiah Placide tallied 17 as the Cavaliers shot 60 percent.

Kankakee extended their lead quickly before Triton hit their basketball books with a vengeance. Guard Brandon Muntu, one of the core of holdovers from last season's Division I Final Four team, found his three-point range with consecutive treys cutting the lead to 50-46. Five consecutive free throws netted a 53-50 lead.

Muntu hit another three, then another shot to boost the quickly-gained margin to 63-54. That completed a 33-4 run before Kankakee scored six in a row to remind the hosts they still had a game on their hands.

Point guard Kimahri Wilson, the Trojans' leading assist man at six per game, ended the Cavaliers' final comeback bid with a steal, feeding Muntu for a layup for a 65-58 lead with just over two minutes to go.

All the while Leontae Lilly, whom Clancy inserted as a sparkplug, worked as a defensive dynamo to thwart the Cavaliers amid the Trojans' comeback.

Muntu was the Trojans' high scorer with 16 points, while big man BJ Marable fought off illness with 13 points and six rebounds inside. Devon Barnes had 10 points.

"It was just energy," said the Western Michigan-bound Muntu. "We had a hard time getting some stops in the first half. (Lilly) gave us what we were missing in the first half. I think we can be a lot better."

Triton hits the road once again to play Southeastern Iowa Community College Saturday, Dec. 10 at 3:00 p.m. in West Burlington, IA.

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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)