From tip-off, you could tell both teams were going to do anything to come away with the win in a heated rivalry against the Edmonds Community College Tritons. With the first home game of league play, every player was leaving everything on the court.

The Trojans and Tritons did not give each other any breathing room as they answered back and forth throughout the entire first half. Early on, Said Hersi took control of the game as he hit 3 threes to give the Trojans a slight lead in the first half of the game. The team rode this momentum, and slowed down the Tritons on a 13-3 run, that culminated with a powerful dunk by Derek Brown Jr.

You could see the fire in the eyes of Giovonni Williams for Edmonds Community College, as he drove into the lane and played powerful basketball inside to gain some of that momentum back. Edmonds Community College began playing much more physical which resulted in Brown Jr. taking a hard hit to the court, causing him to  writhe in pain. The entire gym was quiet as medical staff brought him to the sideline and examined him.

With Brown Jr. out for examination the Tritons created incredible momentum, creating a 15-6 run that brought EdCC back to within a 2-point deficit with a score of 30-28. Brown Jr. re-entered the game shortly after being cleared to play and led the Trojans to a 39-35 lead with 2:34 left in the first half. For the rest of the half the Trojans and Tritons stayed neck and neck both ending with 43 points at half time.

Said Hersi led the first half for the Trojans with 11 points, all while shooting 60 % from beyond the arc. The Trojans played good offense, shooting 44.7 % from the floor, in the first half but fell short on rebounding and defense. The Tritons led the rebounding battle 28 to 18, and dominated the offensive boards by 7 with totals of 12 to 5.

The second half continued with a back and forth game where either team couldn’t come up with a big run. The Trojans looked more efficient and focused in the second half and when asked about this Coach Walker said, “We had to get under control. We were going in there and flying around but we weren’t taking care of business.”

The physical play only got worse as it seemed like the game was stopping constantly with foul after foul. When asked about all of the fouls Quadir Williams had to say, “We don’t let that get to us, we stay poised, we stay confident and we just play our game.”

With 9:50 left, the Tritons were leading the Trojans by 7 with a score of 70-63. At this moment Williams and Brown Jr. started to take over the game as an unstoppable tandem. With 6:25 left, they had brought back the Trojans to tie the Tritons with incredible defense and they looked like they couldn’t miss.

Derek Brown Jr. took over late in the game, at one point going on an 8-0 run against the Tritons with all points scored by him. This led to the largest lead of the game of 13 points with the score at 88-75 with 3:21 left.  The Tritons began to come back and got within three points with under a minute and a half to play. Unfortunately for the Tritons, immediately after their comeback Brown Jr. assisted on a huge three point shot from Williams that created a lead big enough to ride the rest of the way.

When asked about what he was thinking late in the game Brown Jr. had to say, “Winning the game was always in the mindset. Just win.”

The Trojans ended up winning the game 99-90 all while shooting 48.6 percent from the floor, 54.5 percent from three, and hitting the game clinching free throws at an impressive percent of 88.9. Brown Jr. ended the game with team highs and a double-double of 34 points, 25 in the second half, and 10 rebounds. His running mate Williams ended with the team high in assists of six and added 21 points himself to the final score.

The Trojans are now 2-0 in league play and Coach Walker had to say, “They’re ranked number four in the NWAAC, so this week we knocked off number two and number four. That’s a good week.” The next basketball game is this Saturday at Peninsula Community College at 6 p.m.