Men's basketball gets stunned in Region 4 championship game

Call it Black Monday in Freeport.
 
Despite an uneven performance, the Triton College men's basketball team seemingly had booked a date with Moberly at home for a play-in game to the NJCAA National Tournament. The Trojans had a 62-53 lead with a minute and a half to go.
 
But since this is basketball, and opponent Highland had revenge in mind, the Moberly duel won't be taking place. The Cougars finished regulation with a 10-1 run; sending the game into overtime and Triton was not able to recover as Highland eked out a 73-70 victory.
 
"Give credit to Coach Luke Norman, his assistant Erik Walton and the Highland players on their victory," said Triton head coach John Clancy. "It was a great basketball environment."
 
The loss potentially could end the Trojans season unless they can pick-up an at-large NJCAA tourney bid.
 
Point guard Kimahri Wilson practically took over the game with a 12-point flurry to give Triton a five-point lead as the stretch run loomed. He and fellow guard Ethan Pickett, who paced the Trojans with 18 points and 15 rebounds, earned all-tournament honors.
 
Had Triton (22-7) closed out the game, the Collins Center would have hosted the Midwest District Championship with Moberly on Saturday. The team was optimistic of repeating in 2023 another national tournament run. However, they now sit on bubble to see if their name will be called on "Selection Sunday" March 12.
 
The Trojans often played in a lower gear than Clancy has been accustomed. With Pickett (11 points) the only starter in sync, Triton led just 25-21 at intermission, shooting 30 percent to Highland's 23.5 percent. But Triton also had to play the title game without the services of Keyondre Young who was injured in the semifinal win over Sauk Valley.
 
Wilson, who had just two points in the first half, came alive in the second half, hitting back-to-back three-pointers to give the Triton a 48-44 lead. Six more Wilson points upped the margin to 56-51. Momentum appeared to be swinging the Trojans' way with their biggest lead of the game at nine points and time running out for the Cougars.
 
But often in basketball, that's just enough time. The Cougars (24-9) quickly scored six in a row. Then Triton turned the ball over trying to inbound the ball with nine seconds left. This set the stage for Johnny Melvin (16 points) who hit a jumper at the buzzer to tie the game at 63 to force overtime.
 
"We made some costly errors up nine with 1:34 left and Highland made some big time plays capitalizing off our miscues," said Clancy.
 
Melvin's late hot hand kept the Cougars going in the extra period. Triton could not regain its touch, as the Cougars were able to get some breathing room with seconds to go on Ramean Hinton's layup following a layup missed by the Trojans. Hinton had a game-high 17 rebounds and was named tournament MVP.
 
Wilson finished with 14 points, while Brandon Muntu and Didier Maleng each had 12 points apiece. Triton shot 38 percent for the game, and just 5-for-30 from three-point range.
 
"That's the game of basketball," Clancy added. "Sometimes you have to be able to take the thrill of victory as well as the agony of defeat."
 
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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)