Trojans complete epic comeback to stun Southeastern Iowa in OT

Thinking quickly, Kimahri Wilson did not want the greatest comeback of his career to go to waste.

Grabbing the basketball with 6.8 seconds left in overtime and Triton College men's basketball team tied with Southeastern Iowa 78-78, on January 27, the Trojans point guard raced downcourt as the clocked ticked down. Seeing a slight opening on the right side of the lane, Wilson drove right to the basket instead of passing off, and laid in the winning points as time expired.

Triton (16-5) was left for dead one minute into the second half, down 23 points in a glum Collins Center gym at the Jorndt Athletic Complex. Nevertheless, the Trojans gamely executed a trapping defense, forcing the visitors into 26 turnovers and pulled their most impressive Lazarus act of recent memory to craft a much-needed victory over a ranked opponent, in this case the 15^th-ranked Blackhawks (17-5).

"It was a tied game," an exultant Wilson said. "It wasn't pretty. My thought was we did need not to take a three. This was my first (buzzer beater). This was sweet. It means everything. Everyone knows we were falling short against the good teams. This was probably the most important win of our season so far."

With 12 first-half points, Wilson was the only Trojan keeping the fires burning in a first half in which the Blackhawks outscored the hosts 25-6 over the final 10 minutes to lead 40-21 going into intermission. Then the Blackhawks hit on consecutive three pointers to stretch the lead to 46-23 when play resumed.

"We came into the game not ready," said Wilson, developing into one of JUCO's top guards. "We came in at halftime, we (recalled being) down to other teams. We never quit. That's how we came back and got into this game.

"It was basically just keep fighting. Keep chipping at the lead. When we it got down to seven, we knew we had them on the ropes."

The Trojans did not take long to cut into the big deficit. The trapping defense had helped slice the Blackhawks' lead to just eight on Devon Barnes' three free throws with 13:30 left. Triton further cut the deficit to three with seven minutes to go.

Triton's players knew beating a ranked opponent would help a possible at-large tournament bid.

"We didn't fight in the first half," said Triton head coach John Clancy. "I thought we were the tougher team in the second half. I hate to use the word 'must' win, but we knew the importance of this game. Obviously that first 20 was unacceptable."

A Barnes jump shot finally tied the game at 63-63. Blackhawks star Davion Bailey and the Trojans' Brandon Muntu traded threes to forge another tie at 66-66. The Trojans were unsuccessful on several more potential game-winning shots, forcing overtime.

Triton amassed a few three-point leads in the extra period, but Bailey's three-pointer tied it up again at 78-78 to set up Wilson's dramatic finisher.

"I thought Kimahri deserved to hit the game-winner the way he played all night," Clancy said of his "gritty" effort. "Kimahri's been special the last six games."

Wilson racked up a great all-around night – 17 points, five assists, five steals and three rebounds in team-leading 37-plus minutes of play. Barnes was the Trojans' leading scorer and on-court thief with 19 points and six steals. Muntu had 18 points, including four three-pointers. BJ Marable contributed inside with 10 points and a team-leading eight rebounds.

Bailey led all scorers with 25 points, including four three-pointers. Center Railer Vargas Hernandez was a load for Triton with 14 first-half points before departing with an ankle injury.

"It truly was (a classic)," said Clancy. Southeastern Iowa is one of the best teams in the country. It would be very easy for our team to fold up the tent. That's a 'find-a-way' win. That was a high-level junior-college basketball game."
 
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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)