By Triton Athletics
The Triton College men’s basketball team won their sixth Region IV championship in school history with a 59-47 triumph over Black Hawk College-East on Saturday 5 at Waubonsee Community College in Sugar Grove.
The Trojans now advance to the National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) Division II National Tournament March 15-19 in Danville, Illinois. Triton will learn who their first opponent will be when tournament pairings are announced by the NJCAA on Tuesday. The team has won a school record 27 consecutive games, boast an overall 31-2 record and are the No. 1 ranked team in the nation.
In the win over Black Hawk East, Nick Norton led the way to earn Region IV Tournament MVP honors. The sophomore out of Downers Grove North filled the stat sheet with 16 points, 13 rebounds, three assists and three blocked shots.
Sophomore guard Eric Gillespie (Warren) scored nine points and was an all-tournament selection. Eddie Miles also made the all-tournament team. The sophomore from Hales Franciscan only scored five points, but his defensive presence gave the Warriors trouble, as Miles had five steals in the contest.
Josh Doss (Taft) added nine points and 10 rebounds in the winning effort.
The Trojans played stifling defense and used it to generate easy baskets on offense. Triton scored 21 points off of 23 Black Hawk East turnovers.
In addition to the player honors, head coach Steve Christiansen was named NJCAA Region IV District 3 Coach of the Year. For Christiansen, the regional championship was his third in his 12 seasons in River Grove, the first since 2011 when the Trojans finished third at the national tournament. Christiansen recently earned his 300th career win as Triton’s head coach.
Triton (@tritoncollege) punches its ticket to the 2016 #NJCAA DII Men’s Basketball Championship! pic.twitter.com/z955wRIc8a
— NJCAA (@NJCAA) March 6, 2016
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See also: No. 1 Triton Ends BHE’s Tournament Run.
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Posted on March 8, 2016