Barnes shoots men's basketball into Region 4 Championship game

Experienced clutch shooter Devon Barnes' flurry of second-half three-pointers bailed out the Triton College men's basketball team in an 87-80 victory over Sauk Valley Community College in the opener of Region 4 Division I playoffs March 4 in Freeport.

Keeping a worthy opponent like the 19-13 Skyhawks at bay down the stretch, the 22-6 Trojans now will play for the Region 4 championship at 7:30 p.m. against the tournament hosts Highland Community College.

Already a veteran of coming through late in games this season, Barnes scored 20 of his team-high 23 points with five three-pointers in the second half.

The Skyhawks had closed the gap midway through the second half after trailing 45-35 at intermission. Sauk Valley even took a brief 67-65 lead with eight minutes to go.

But Barnes answered with back-to-back three-pointers from the left and right sides of the court to give Triton the lead back. His long-range marksmanship would still be needed again, though.

Sauk Valley tied the game at 74-74, and stayed within a couple of possessions of Triton. With the Trojans leading 82-78 with 1:22 left, Barnes nailed his final trey to give his team breathing room at the end.

"Take that shot, we got a cushion," said Barnes. "You step up sometimes. They were on a run. Just weather it and we're good. The shots I took, I take every day."

Triton coach John Clancy never calls the wrong number with Barnes.

"We've rode with him all year," he said. "He's a special dude in the second half. We have a ton of confidence in him as a true freshman. Credit to our guys to find the hot hand."

Barnes added another three-pointer in the first half, when the Trojans hit eight overall. Guard Kimahri Wilson had a trio of treys. Triton enjoyed balanced scoring as they appeared poised to dominate the Skyhawks.

But Clancy was not relaxing, not in the postseason.

"I'm happy to find a way to the next round," he said. "First, give Sauk Valley a ton of credit. That team won 19 games and beat Moberly. We had some issues defensively, and problems with Devon House. (game-high 25 points on 9-for-13 shooting and nine rebounds).

"But this time of the year you have to defend and rebound at a high level."

Clancy does not need to shout that at his players.

"Defense and rebounding -- we know that at this point," Barnes said. "We were scoring, and they were scoring (in the opener). On the defensive end, we've got to step up."

Brandon Muntu had 16 points and five assists. Wilson, who had a team-leading eight assists, and Ethan Pickett each had 13 points. Backup Quentin Flood complemented Barnes with several key plays in the second half, finishing with 10 points and a team-high eight rebounds.

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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)