Tritons upset No. 9 Eagles
The Iowa Central men may not be in the race for the ICCAC conference title, but on Saturday they put a wrench in ninth-ranked Kirkwood’s plans for a league title.
The Tritons (10-19 overall, 2-8 ICCAC) upended the Eagles (22-5, 8-2) 82-80, handing them their second league loss.
Third-ranked Southwestern (27-1, 9-1) now has the out right lead in the conference, with its only loss coming at the hands of Kirkwood. The Eagles and Southwestern split this season.
The Tritons used a solid shooting night, going 11-for-23 from three-point range and shot 46 percent from the field.
“We definitely played much more inspired than we have lately,” said Iowa Central assistant coach Chad Helle. “We made some shots and got some key defensive stops.”
Tray Croft and Prince Moss had big games for the Tritons.
Croft finished with a game-high 30 points. He was 4-for-9 from three point range and was 12 of 24 from the field.
Moss hit 5 of 8 threes and was 8-for-12 from the field.
“Obviously Tray Croft was Tray Croft. He’s definitely the best player in the league,” Helle said. “Prince got into a nice rhythm and made some key shots.
“It was a really good team effort. Hopefully we can build on this win next week and then into the conference tournament.”
Kam Swift added 13 points, while Robert Hawkins had nine and David Miller added 7.
“Robert Hawkins played really well,” Helle said. “For a guy his size (5-9) to get six offensive rebounds is really impressive.”
Kirkwood placed five players in double figures. Shakur Triplett led the way with 15 points. Miles Wentzien added 13, while Chris King had 12 points. Byron Harp and Kaliph Fagan had 10 each.
The Tritons are back in action on Wednesday when they host Southwestern at 7:30 p.m.
Iowa Central 82,
Kirkwood 80
Iowa Central — Kam Swift 13, Tray Croft 30, Prince Moss 23, David Miller 7, Robert Hawkins 9.
Kirkwood — Shakur Triplett 15, Byron Harp 10, Chris King 12, Da’Rion King 8, Al’Tavius Jackson 3, Miles Wentzien 13, Kaliph Fagan 10, Carlo Marble 9.