Indians drop 79-72 game at No. 4 Triton College

RIVER GROVE, Ill. – The McCook Community College men’s basketball team dropped a 79-72 decision to No. 4 Triton College Friday in the Triton Classic.

“I thought are guys played really tough tonight,” said MCC Coach Dillon Hargrove. “I think tonight was our season high in assists, the guys moved the ball really well.”

The Trojans took a 37-26 halftime lead and stretched it to 21 points with nine minutes left in the game.

“We got down double digits and fought back to cut it to one point with under two minutes left, we just couldn’t knock in the big shot,” said MCC Hargrove. “Credit to those guys for making the big plays when it mattered the most.”

MCC shot 41.2 percent from the field, went four-for-18 from the arc (22.2 percent) and made 12 of 17 free throws (70.6 percent). The Indians turned the ball over 14 times.

The Trojans were 43.8 from the field, made nine of 27 3-point shots (33.3 percent) and were 14 of 25 from the line (56 percent) with 16 turnovers. Triton outrebounded MCC 44-41.

“I’m really proud of this group for how they fight each night, every game has been a four-minute game at the end,” said Hargrove. “We just have to keep battling and eventually the ball is going to bounce in our favor.

Sophomore transfer Madison Peaster (Little Rock, Ark.) led MCC with 21 points to go along with seven rebounds. Freshman Da'Shawn Hall-Johnson (Bridgeport, Conn.) scored 18 and sophomore transfer (Tavarius Vinson, Chicago, Ill.) had a game-high 11 rebounds to go along with 16 points and three blocked shots.

MCC had 17 assists with six each from freshman Nate Coley, (Little Rock, Ark.) and sophomore transfer Dave Olaniyi (Newark, N.J.).

No. 4 Triton College improves to 3-1 on the season

“They’ve got a couple of really good players over there with Wallace and Anderson,” said Hargrove. “Those guys hit big shots all night, especially late.”

Dayjuan Anderson led all scorers with 22 points while Vijay Wallace had 17.

MCC (3-3) will have a quick turnaround and continue in the Triton Classic Saturday with a 1 p.m. game against Sauk Valley Community College (1-5).

“They are a very fast, scrappy team,” said Hargrove. “We’re going to have to control the tempo and take care of the ball tomorrow to come out with the win.”

The Indians will return home Thursday for a 7 p.m. game against the Hastings College Junior Varsity.

Up-to-date information about MCC basketball including livestream links, schedule, statistics, rosters, photos and more can be found on the MCC Athletics website, www.mccindians.com