In March, the Triton College basketball team fought through its own junior college national competition “madness,” ending up with a second place finish – overall – to cap a season with a winning record officials say tied with the best in team history.
The Trojans are the national runner-up after losing 88-73 to Barton County Community College March 30 at the NJCAA Division I Championship Tournament played in Hutchinson, Kansas, according to a Triton news release announcing the feat.
Overall, the men’s basketball team finished the season 34-3, tying the most wins in team history, the release states.
In addition to the runner-up prize, players Amar Augillard, a 6’5 guard and alum of Zion-Benton High School in far-north suburban Zion, and AJ Dixon, a 6’5 guard who attended Merrillville High School in Indiana, were named to the All-Tournament Team. Dylan Williams, a 5’11 guard from South Carolina, earned the Best Small Man Award.
Triton also won the Team Sportsmanship Award for the tournament.
“The team has been unbelievable,” said first-year Triton College head coach Brian Burns, who received the Midwest District Coach of the Year Award at the national tournament.
Despite the loss to Barton – located in Great Bend, Kansas – Burns said he was “proud of the way the guys hung in there.”
“Obviously it’s great for the school. Two Final Fours in three years and now a national runner-up, not just a semifinalist,” he said. “It’s been a great run.”
