Edmonds Pours In 20 Points, But Triton Nips No. 17 Express At Buzzer

By Nicholas Huenefeld/Owens Sports Information

River Grove, IL---Triton College's Jared Dimakos hit a jumper in the paint with 0.3 seconds remaining to give the No. 17 Express men a 67-65 loss in the Triton Tip Off Classic semifinals.

Andy Bachman had hit a 3-pointer from the corner with 1:22 remaining to give the Express a 65-63 lead, but Darrius Golston's lay-in tied the game for Triton with 50 seconds left. Justin Edmonds missed a 3-point attempt with 17 seconds left, Triton called a timeout, and Dimakos hit the game winner.

The Express had led by as many as 13 in the first half. A 3-pointer from Edmonds at the 11:51 mark gave his team a 20-7 lead. Triton cut the lead to 24-22 with 4:52 remaining, but the Express went on a 7-0 run to take a 31-22 lead. Triton wouldn't go away, however, and went on a 6-0 run to end the half with a three point deficit at 31-28.

Then, with 14:13 left in the game, the Express had their largest lead of the half at 44:38 following a jumper from Reneillio Morrison. Following that, the game was a close, back and forth contest.

Triton took their first lead at 47-46 with 11:49 remaining and stretched that lead to 61-55 with 4:35 left. A three from Edmonds and back-to-back jumpers from Kelvin Clark, however, pulled the Express within one at 63-62 with 2:26 remaining.

Edmonds then blocked a Triton shot with 1:37 remaining to give possession to the Express at that point, which set up Bachman's three.

Edmonds had a solid all-around game for the Express as he finished 8-for-17 from the field overall and 4-for-10 from 3-point range while scoring 20 points and adding eight rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. He has back-to-back 20 plus point games to open the season.

James Kelly struggled with his shot (6-for-15), but still produced his second straight double-double with 12 points, 11 rebounds and two blocks.

In addition to those two, Joe Retic II had 11 assists and six rebounds. He now has 18 assists through the team's first two games.

Darian White led Triton with 14 points, while Demitrius Starks and Dimakos each added 12 points.

The biggest difference in the game came at the foul line. Owens attempted only one free throw, while Triton went to the line 18 times (12-for-18). The Express outrebounded Triton 48 to 34, including an 18 to 10 advantage on the offensive glass.

Notes

The Express (1-1) will take on Cincinnati State Technical and Community College (1-1) in the third place game tomorrow at 12 p.m.