Missed opportunity in Harper's N4C loss

Everything was missing Tuesday night for the Harper College men's basketball team.

Inside shots, free throws and 3-pointers. Effort and intensity.

It all added up to a disappointing 74-65 loss in its N4C opener with visiting Triton in Palatine.

"We came out and just didn't fight," said freshman Andy Merklein after Harper's third straight loss. "It was almost embarrassing."

Merklein was one of the few bright spots for the Hawks (13-5), who were ranked sixth in this week's NJCAA Division III national poll. The 6-foot-9 freshman from Prospect had game-highs of 24 points on 11-for-13 shooting, 14 rebounds and 7 blocked shots.

Consecutive baskets inside by Merklein capped a 9-0 run to put Harper up 19-17. Triton (15-4) answered with 7 straight points and never trailed again in its seventh straight victory.

"Every part of the game we got beat in and it's tough to figure out," said Harper coach Tony Amarino. "A conference game, your first one at home, you've got to win that one."

Harper actually shot better from the field at 41.3 percent (26-for-63) to 35 percent by Triton (28-for-80).

But Triton had rebound advantages of 21-11 offensively and 46-37 overall despite a height disadvantage where its tallest starter is 6-4.

Triton 6-7 freshman Morris Thomas did come off the bench for 12 points and 12 rebounds, 6-3 Justin Tiner had 18 points and 10 rebounds and 6-4 Demetrius Young added 15 points and 7 rebounds.

"That's a rarity for us because of our height," Triton coach Steve Christiansen said of the offensive rebounding edge. "We need to shoot well to normally have success."

Harper also shot just 4-for-20 beyond the 3-point arc and 9-for-19 on free throws. Bobby Rhodes had 18 points on 6-for-16 shooting but 6-7 Fred Taylor had just 4 of his 13 points the first 34:15 and only 4 rebounds.

Harper got within 56-50 on Merklein's baseline drive at 5:10 but couldn't get closer. Triton didn't commit a turnover in the final 7:44 and hit 8-of-10 free throws the last 4:04 to finish 15-for-19.

"It seemed we could have won these games and should have won these games," Merklein said. "We've got to figure out why we didn't.

"We've got to get tougher."

Women fall 54-50: The short-handed Harper (3-13) women nearly pulled off a big N4C opening victory.

The Hawks, who dressed only six players, tied it with two minutes left but committed a pair of costly turnovers after Triton went ahead to stay with a 3-pointer.

"I thought we played hard and aggressive but at times we just didn't play very smart," said Harper coach Rusty Becker. "But the kids left it all on the floor finally."

Cerissa Sanders scored a team-high 18 points in just her second game with the Hawks. Larissa Coldebella added 16 points, Jenny Murray scored 10 and Cyndi Smith ran the point with Katy Spencer out for the second straight game with a broken finger.

"(Smith) did a nice job in the second half of not turning the ball over," Becker said. "We just missed too many inside shots."