Wallace leads Trojans to season sweep of Southeastern Iowa

Any Triton College men's basketball opponent can try to slow down the up-tempo 11th-ranked team.

Success in grinding it out is another story. Capturing their12^th win in a row, the 17-3 Trojans overcame Southeastern Iowa's deliberate tactics on the back of an all-around game from Vijay Wallace in a 71-60 victory on February 1 at the Jorndt Athletic Complex gymnasium.

Unable to duplicate Triton's faster pace and three-point shooting, the Blackhawks nevertheless stayed in the game midway through the second half. Four ties and lead changes were featured in the first half, but three-pointers by Kaiden Space and Dayjuan Anderson paced a 10-0 run early in the second half to give Triton a 50-40 lead.

But over the next seven minutes, Triton went cold as 17-6 Southeastern Iowa's slow-poke attack cut the lead to 50-48.

"They tried to slow us down," said Wallace, who seemed exempted from the Blackhawks' spell. He had a game-high 27 points in a Jan. 11 victory over the Blackhawks, and in this game was able to break through again, pacing all scorers with 20.

The Trojans used their best weapon – the three pointer – to break out of the doldrums as Hassan Dorman and Chase Coleman hit from long range. A Wallace three pointer virtually clinched the game in boosting the lead to 64-51 with 4:30 to go. Triton was 5-for-11 from long range in the second half.

Good physicality also was needed by the Trojans to survive. The game got chippy on several occasions. Wallace had five blocked shots, one of 13 the Trojans recorded compared to just two for the Blackhawks. He also had a game-high eight assists.

Wallace knows Triton sometimes will have to play – and win – in a lower gear against some opponents.

"Every day our shots are not going to fall, especially threes," he said. "We have to grind it out."

Sophomore Tolu Samuels helped out in the physical game with 10 points and a game-high nine rebounds. Space had nine points, Matt Sullivan totaled eight and Anderson finished with seven. Isaiah Sullivan led Southeastern Iowa with 18.

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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle)