Sullivan's breakout game sparks Trojans in season opening win

Matt Sullivan could hardly get on the court as a Triton College freshman last year.

The 6-foot-5 Baltimore product played in only 25 of the Trojans' 35 games with just one start. He averaged only 4.1 points per game, connecting on 36 shots from the floor.

But patience is still a virtue. Still not a starter, Sullivan was the first man off the bench in the season opener against College of Lake County Nov. 1 at the Jordnt Athletic Complex Gymnasium. He ended up logging more than 27 minutes of action, leading Triton with 23 points, including an impressive five three-pointers out of the seven shots he made.

Suffice to say, Sullivan was the headliner of the day at the very moment No. 11 ranked Triton expected to showcase its new starting lineup of 6-foot-10 Miles Mitchell, forwards Papa Kounta and Terez Holmes, and guards Saadiq Moore and Brandon Davis.
Sullivan proved to be the spark plug in a 99-82 victory over CLC, but he was no surprise to the Trojans coaching staff.

"He's a fantastic shooter and a great human being," said assistant coach Taylor Lavery, filling in for an ill head coach Brian Burns. "He's relentless, and always in the gym."

The Trojans got off to a sluggish start against the Lancers, trailing 7-4. Lavery then inserted Sullivan, who hit his first three shots, sparking a 13-0 run. Sullivan quickly amassed 11 points as Triton built its lead to 57-36 at halftime on 54 percent shooting. With Sullivan hitting key treys, the Trojans were 5-for-14 from three-point range.

Triton then zoomed further ahead by starting the second half on an 8-0 run. At that point, the two teams basically traded baskets the rest of the way, as CLC did not quit running its offense as Triton threatened to reach the 100-point mark.

Sullivan also hit four-of-five free throws, but Lavery said that's only a starting point.

"I'd like to see him get to the free-throw line more," he said.

The new starters played well. Moore scored 16, Davis had 14 and a team-leading six assists, Mitchell scored 13 points and seven rebounds, Kounta had 13 points and a team-high eight rebounds, and Holmes had seven points with seven rebounds. Ethan Johnson added 11 points in 21 minutes off the bench for the Trojans.

As with Sullivan's free throw frequency, the team play also was a good beginning with more fine-tuning on tap, said Lavery.

"These guys played hard," he said. "Overall, there were a lot of good things, but also a lot to work on. We've got to be better on the defensive end. We gave up 46 points in the second half."

Triton's next game will be against Lake Land College from Mattoon at 7 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 3) in River Grove.

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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)