Kirkwood outlasts Triton for DII national championship
The Eagles knocked off the top-seeded Trojans to win their second NJCAA title in program history
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DANVILLE, Ill. – For the first time since 1998, Kirkwood (Iowa) is the NJCAA Division II Men’s Basketball champions after upending top-seeded Triton (Ill.) 83-76 on Saturday night at the Mary Miller Center.
With the win, the Eagles (31-4) earned the program’s second national title while also snapping Tritons’ 30-game win streak.
Leading the way for Kirkwood was Nick Richards with a team-high 21 points. Bryon Harp finished the night with 15 points as Josh Barlett chipped in 12. Cristen Wilson meanwhile pulled down a game-high 12 rebounds to accompany his eight points.
Eddie Miles had a game-high 26 points in the loss for the Trojans (34-3). Greg Carter and Percell Washington each finished with 10 points.
The first 20 minutes of was back and forth as the teams traded buckets as Triton’s 48.3 percent from the floor edged out Kirkwood’s 45.2 percent shooting. The Trojans were also more proficient from distance as they converted on 4 of 10 chances.
Before the end of the half Richards went on a run for Kirkwood as he tallied 11 of 13 points in a span of four minutes to help put the Eagles out front, 37-36.
The second half saw much of the same up and down action that opened the game. The Kirkwood offense heated up as it shot 56.5 percent from the field as it went 3-for-7 from 3-point land.
The Triton offense remained consistent as they converted 14 of 15 attempts from the free throw line and shot 40 percent from the field. Though when it came to shooting from behind the arc the Trojans sputtered making only 2 of 9 attempts.
Photos courtesy of Deb Edwards.