Tritons finish third in basketball tourney after 5-point loss Wednesday
Tritons finish third in basketball tourney after 5-point loss Wednesday
Tritons finish third in basketball tourney after 5-point loss Wednesday
3/3/2022
The University of Guam Triton Men’s Basketball Team was eliminated from the “Take it 2 the South Part 2” tournament after a 53-48 loss to Team Wu Tang on Wednesday at the Talofofo Gym. The Tritons won their opening game against the Just-Shoot-It basketball club but did not have enough momentum to beat Team Wu Tang for a spot in the finals.
The Tritons had a slow start to their game against Team Just-Shoot-It but found their rhythm toward the end of the first quarter and led 37-33 at halftime. UOG held the lead for most of the second period, then jumped up 12 more points with one minute left on the clock. The Tritons defeated Team Just-Shoot-It with a final score of 54-42.
Leading the Tritons in scoring were Matthew Santos with 15 points, Diane’ “D” Blackmon with 14, and Tristan Valdes with 13.
The Tritons advanced to the next round and took on Team Wu Tang for a spot in the finals. Both teams struggled to score in the first half. UOG jumped to a 10-point lead with only two minutes left in the half, but Team Wu Tang cut the lead to one point at halftime, 22-21.
The Tritons lost momentum at the start of the second half and fell behind 32-25 after the first five minutes of the period. After a Tritons comeback that closed the gap to one point in Wu Tang’s favor, UOG’s Darryl Robles gained the Tritons the lead with a slam dunk. Team Wu Tang called a time out at the 7:49 mark with UOG up 41-40.
The game was back and forth from that point, but Team Wu Tang’s ability to hit their free throws gave them the advantage to win the game 53-48.
UOG finished third in the tournament out of eight teams with an overall record of 3-2.
Triton Men’s Basketball League launches Wednesday
The Tritons will return to the court for the opening game of the Triton Men’s Basketball League this Wednesday night. UOG will play against Team Wu Tang at 6:30 p.m. at the UOG Calvo Field House.
All UOG games will be recorded and posted on the Triton Athletics YouTube channel. Fans can also tune into the Triton Sports Zone video podcast to stay up to date with the latest athletics news, watch exclusive athlete interviews, and learn about upcoming events and games. The podcast episodes are live at 6 p.m. every Thursday on the Triton Athletics Facebook channel.