Daily Herald Article

Replay of the Live Broadcast

PALATINE, Ill. – Facing a No. 1 team for the second time in four days, the Harper College men's basketball team showed flashes of brilliance against Triton College on Wednesday night. However, it wasn't quite enough as the Hawks lost 79-57 to the Trojans, the top-ranked team at the NJCAA Div. II level.

The Trojans (23-2, 9-0 N4C) raced out to an early 17-5 lead that they stretched to 33-17 with 4:02 to play in the first half. The Hawks (8-17, 1-8 N4C) got back into the game with a 12-4 run led by seven points in that stretch from Davion Benton (Chicago, Ill. /Alcott College Prep), cutting the halftime lead to 37-29.

Triton opened the second half on a 23-7 run to take its biggest lead of the game at 60-36 with 11:15 remaining. Harper would not go quietly, going on a 14-2 run aided by Admir Suljic (Chicago, Ill. /Lane Tech)'s three 3-pointers to cut the deficit to 12 with 6:30 to play.

Trojans head coach Steve Christiansen reinserted his starting lineup into the game following a timeout, and his squad responded with a 12-2 burst to put the game out of reach. Triton shot 47.9 percent (34-of-71) for the game and outrebounded Harper 43-32. The Hawks shot 35 percent (21-of-60) in the loss.

Marcus Gatlin (Chicago, Ill./Curie) scored a career-high 16 points for Harper while Suljic finished with 15. Benton posted a double-double of 14 points and 14 rebounds to go with five steals.

Brian Howard was one of five Trojans in double figures with a game-high 22 points, and Devonte Taylor had 13.

The Hawks are on the road Saturday as they square off with Wilbur Wright College (5-18, 0-9 N4C) at 3 PM.