Men's basketball tops Highland to stay in control of Region 4 race

Gaudy numbers envelop the Triton College men's basketball team in the dead of winter.

After a road win at Highland Community College Feb. 4, the Trojans are 18-5 overall and have won 10 of their last 11 games. They are a cool 14-0 in Region 4 Division I. They have moved back up to No. 10 in the latest NJCAA Division I poll.

But in spite of all the glittering stats, head John Clancy sometimes gives his team just barely passing grades. Such was the case in Freeport, where normally a road win that does not go down to the wire against a quality opponent such as the Cougars makes a coach happy.

Clancy wants more, and figures the Trojans need to elevate their effort and energy from levels below his expectations.

"We found a way to win on the road," he said of the 73-65 victory against 14-8 Highland. "We think we can just turn it on. Maybe we need to take a loss."

"It's nice that we got a win. However, I'm more concerned with the product on the floor. I need to do a better job getting these guys locked in. The bar is being set high."

As Clancy gave that critique, Devon Barnes sat just a few feet away in the coach's van on the two-hour trip back to campus.

No offense taken, and Barnes was all ears.

"It's expected," he said of Clancy's tough love. "We take it and learn from it."

Highland answered much of Triton's production much of the game in front of an enthusiastic home crowd. The score was tied at 31 at halftime with Triton having committed nine of their 13 total turnovers before intermission. The Cougars took a brief lead early in the second half and crept within two points as the stretch run began.

But Barnes and point guard Kimahri Wilson staved off further trouble. The pair took over the game on Triton's end.

Barnes had 13 of his game-high 24 points in the second half, including clutch baskets to put the game out of reach in the final two minutes. Wilson, playing as well as any JUCO point guard in the country, also came up big offensively to keep the Cougars from being a possession away from tying the game. He tallied 16 points overall with all three assists in the second half.

"It's just the way it was going," Barnes said. "We needed to be hot."

As Wilson goes, so goes the offense. He gives Clancy the ball handler and floor general he often lacked last season even while reaching the NJCAA DI Final Four.

"He plays real hard, he's real smart and makes it easier for everyone to play," Barnes said of Wilson. "I'll put him up against any point guard. He can hoop. You can see it all coming (after Wilson came back from an injury)."

After sweeping the home-and-home series against Highland, Triton may not have seen the last of their tough opponent's home floor. The Trojans finish the regular season with three of the last four games away from River Grove, including visits to one of their top contenders in the region Kankakee Community College (Feb. 9) and No. 3 ranked Indian Hills Community College (Feb. 25).

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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)