The Triton College men's basketball team fell one frantic last-second charge short of a Region 4 Division I championship.
With 6.6 seconds to go Saturday (March 7), Malcolm X College's Denyell Rush missed a free throw with his team up 80-79. The Trojans'
Matt Sullivan got the ball, dashed downcourt and tried to pass to
Terez Holmes for the final shot. But the ball was tipped out of bounds as the clock ticked to zero.
After a game of surges, rallies and lead changes, Triton did not have a finishing kick after five straight victories had earned them the title game berth as a No. 5 seed against Malcolm X before the season's biggest crowd at the Jordnt Athletic Complex gymnasium.
"The last three possessions, we turned the ball over, had a free throw and had an outlet pass to the other side, trying to get a shot," said interim coach
Taylor Lavery. "It's the heat of the moment with six seconds left."
The desperate effort to launch the game-winner was a fitting end to a game in which Malcolm X jumped to a 25-11 first-half lead, only to have Triton wipe out that edge by scoring the last 11 points before intermission to lead 36-33.
In the second half, the Trojans boosted their lead to 44-39, only to have the Hawks go on a 15-4 run to lead 54-48. The two teams would trade leads with Sullivan's three-pointer and
Will Scott's two free throws giving Triton one-point leads going into the final three minutes.
Juaquin Dixon's two free throws gave Malcolm X an 80-76 lead with 14 seconds to go. Then Scott banked-in a three-pointer to set up the frustrating finish.
"It was back and forth," said Lavery. "(Malcolm X) played hard, they played together. They made runs and did the little things."
Papa Kounta led the Trojans with 17 points. He also had nine rebounds. Scott had 16 points while Sullivan and
Saadiq Moore each had 13.
Ethan Johnson totaled 10 points. Holmes was game-high rebounder with 10. The Panthers' Arnas Samaitis was game-high scorer with 22 points while Dixon finished with 20 for the Hawks.
Lavery was "extremely proud" of the Trojans' season-long effort to overcome injuries and other personnel issues. Until Kounta became a top two-way player late in the season, Triton did not possess a "go-to" type scorer as in past seasons. Recent Triton teams were comfortably in the 20-win range while this year's squad had to finish strong to reach 18 victories.
"They stayed resilient," Lavery said. "It was a very different year with different lineups. The players were extremely bought in to what we wanted to the point of exhaustion."
Coming in this season as a new assistant coach to the program, Lavery had to step up his own game to fill in for head coach
Brian Burns, who missed the entire season on medical leave.
"It was the 'next man up,' like with players," he said. "I'm super grateful to Triton College for taking me. It was an extreme learning experience."
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(Story by tritonathletics.com contributor George Castle) Â
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