MIGHTY TROJANS OF TRITON COLLEGE DEFEAT DELAWARE TECH AND COMMUNITY COLLEGE 90-86, ADVANCE IN NATIONAL TOURNAMENT

RIVER GROVE, Ill., March 16 -- Triton College issued the following news release:

Survive and advance. That phrase you hear frequently comes tournament time and for the Triton College men's basketball team that was case in their opening round game of the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II Tournament Tuesday afternoon in Danville, Ill. The Trojans did not play their best, especially on defense, but found a way to gut out a 90-86 victory over Delaware Tech.

Triton now moves on to the Elite Eight to take on Kirkwood Community College from Cedar Rapids, Iowa, tonight at 8 p.m. The #4 seeded Eagles (29-5) defeated Highland Community College out of Kansas 72-59.

The win improved the #5 seeded Trojans to a mark of 29-5 as well, which equals the school record for wins in a season.

Triton appeared to be well on the way to an easy win early on, jumping out to a 19-9 lead after Darrin Johnson (Leo) assisted on a Bryant Orange (Simeon) three-pointer. But Delaware Tech would not go down easy and trailed 44-36 at halftime.

In the second half, neither side could stop one another as the Spirit outscored triton 50-46. Still, the Trojans maintained a double-digit lead throughout most of the final 20 minutes. The Spirit used 10 three-pointers to stay in the game.

"Give Delaware Tech a lot of credit, they played us extremely tough," said Triton head coach Steve Christiansen. "We need to regroup and put together a better effort tomorrow against a very good Kirkwood team."

Orange led the Trojans with 26 points, 7 assists and five steals. Johnson finished with 11 points and Cory Procter (Lincoln Park) added 10 for Triton.

Tonight's game vs. Kirkwood will be streamed live on the internet at www.ihigh.com.

For more information on Triton College Athletics, visit www.triton.edu/athletics or call Athletic Director Harry McGinnis at (708) 456-0300, Ext. 3784.

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