Amar Augillard served notice over the weekend he'll be a load for Triton opponents the rest of the season.
Both Three Rivers and Missouri State-West Plains had few answers for north suburban Zion product Augillard's firepower during the Iowa-Missouri Challenge tournament Nov. 10 & 11 at Indian Hills Community College in Ottumwa, Iowa. In boosting Triton to a 5-0 start, Augillard totaled 64 points, including 11 three-pointers, in a pair of blowout victories.
Augillard had hardly cooled off from a 32-point spree in the 91-67 victory Nov. 10 over Three Rivers when he blitzed Missouri State-West Plains for 20 first-half points the next day. He scored 12 of Triton's 14 points in the first six minutes of the game.
When teammate
AJ Dixon got into the flow in the first half with his own great afternoon, other Trojans hardly had to be sharpshooters with the two-man show.
And when Missouri State-West Plaines cut 10 points into Triton's 49-33 halftime lead, Augillard and Dixon heated up just enough to restore the comfortable edge that reached 20 with six minutes to go and the eventual 94-77 triumph.
Augillard's deja vu 32-point outing included four three-pointers along with five rebounds, three steals and one block. Dixon's 26 points featured 10-for-10 free-throw shooting, four rebounds and steals apiece, and three assists.
Dylan Williams added 13 points with five rebounds and three assists as Triton shot 52 % overall.
"Amar is as good a scorer as anyone in junior college now," said head coach
Brian Burns whose squad is ranked
No. 22 in the latest NJCAA Division I Poll released Nov. 13.
Against Three Rivers, the Trojans had to apply pressure on both sides much of the game after trailing 43-37 at halftime. The effort worked to perfection as Triton outscored Three Rivers 54-24 in the second half.
Augillard totaled 32 on 12-for-19 shooting, including 7-for-10 from three-point range. Dixon had 14. Williams also contributed a big game with 21 points and team leadership with seven assists and six rebounds.
Tolu Samuels had nine points. Triton shot 49.3 % overall and 53.8 % from three-point range.
Burns said the Trojans have played as well as he could have expected starting out, including good efforts against tougher opponents. And one big reason is Augillard, playing full-time after assorted interruptions in his court time in his first two collegiate seasons elsewhere.
Other coaches have scrutinized Augillard's triple-threat offense. He can drive to the basket, shoot the mid-range jumper and is showing his tough-to-defend side with three-point prowess. He'll inevitably be keyed upon the rest of this season.
"He's going to have to get used to it," Burns said of the kitchen-sink defense expected against the new star. "We're just going to use him as a screener. That would open things up for other guys."
Nevertheless, it is going to be difficult for opposing teams to contain Augillard's explosiveness from the outside.
"It's something he's been able to do since a kid. We view him as an elite shooter," said Burns, who watched Augillard in Zion's youth leagues.
The immediate beneficiary of Aguillard's talents seems to be Dixon, who operated freely all over the floor against Missouri State-West Plaines.
"A.J. is getting going partly because of the space Amar provides," said Burns, who was particularly pleased Dixon and his improvement after the first five games of the season.
Triton returns to Region 4 play on Tuesday, Nov. 14 as they travel to Malcolm X College. Game time is 7 p.m.
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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)
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