Triton claims another Region 4 men's basketball championship

With a host of players grabbing a piece of the action, the top-seeded Trojans captured their second straight Region 4 Division I title and third in four years with a resounding 92-65 victory over second-seeded Kankakee Community College.
 

The triumph booked Triton's trip to Moberly Area Community College for the Midwest District championship game Saturday at 7 p.m. with the winner earning an automatic berth to the NJCAA Division I National Tournament in Hutchinson, Kan. The No. 10-ranked Trojans (27-4) also are in contention for an at-large tournament bid. However, Triton head coach John Clancy has his preference on how he desires to land in Kansas.

"We want to win our way in," he said.
 

If the Trojans can bottle much of their mojo against the Cavaliers, they'll do just that. Playing in front of the largest crowd of the season, the hosts were hardly challenged from the opening tip.
 

Displaying good ball movement immediately, Triton was boosted by big man Patrick Suemnick scoring the first four points and guard JJ Kalakon nailing a three-pointer in his first game back from dealing with his mother's death. Cobie Montgomery was hot from the start, and Stevenson product John Ittounas once again was a sparkplug off the bench at point guard.
 

The Trojans led 47-33 at halftime, but Clancy obviously reminded his players of other games where they let an opponent back into the game in the second half. The Trojans responded, steadily increasing the lead. A Montgomery three-pointer gave Triton a 67-43 lead. An Ittounas dunk was an exclamation point to make it 85-57.
 

Consistent offensive rebounding gradually wore down the Cavaliers (19-12).
 

"It was a huge point of emphasis on the glass," said Clancy. "Our depth usually wears people out. We were able to get to them the second half."
 

With Triton shooting 47 percent overall, Montgomery led a balanced offense with 24 points on 9-for-13 shooting, including five three-pointers. Teonta McKeithen had a trio of three-pointers among his 16 points. Cam Denson totaled 14 points, seven rebounds and two blocked shots. Deangelo Elisee had 11 points. Ittounas hit four of his five shots, totaling nine points with seven assists.
 

Brandon Muntu did not score, but was a factor inside with a team-leading 13 rebounds. Kalakon dished out a team-leading eight assists. He was a story-within-the-story, having dealt with personal tragedy, but drew strength from his teammates.
 

"It's been tough the past two and a half weeks," Kalakon said. "My team kept me together. I'm just free from the world (on the floor). I think it's the support of my teammates. It's been positive on us, nothing negative"
 

Kalakon earned the Region 4 tournament most valuable player award. Montgomery and Suemnick also earned all-tournament honors.
 

In his first season guiding the Trojans, Clancy was named Region 4 Coach of the Year.
 

"We beat a really good basketball team," Clancy said. "I'm really proud of our defensive effort. I thought John Ittounas sparked us. I thought Cam Denson sparked us. We have a deep team."
 

The big crowd really energized Clancy and his players. Now they have to become road warriors all the way to a championship.
 

"I want to thank everybody for coming out," Clancy added. "I wish we had another home game. To have the fans in the stands after a Covid year, I couldn't be happier for these guys."
 

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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)