Triton Men Hand #12 Iowa Western First Loss in 90-78 Victory
Starting 2026 with three ranked opponents, #12 Iowa Western, #4 Ellsworth, and #3 Johnson County, it was important for the #7 Triton Men (14-1, 6-1 conference) to get their first win of 2026 on Saturday (1/3) in Hodges vs. undefeated Iowa Western.
Trailing 18-11 at the half-way point of the first half, and by as many as 12 throughout the half, the Tritons didn't panic and came out in the second half and outscored the Reivers 16-7 in the first five minutes and went on to a dominant 90-78 victory and their 14th win of the season.
"It was an all-hands on deck win today," said Triton Head Coach, Mason Denholm. "Down going into halftime, we didn't make any adjustments per se. We stuck to our game plan defensively and I challenged our group to go up another gear."
Jordan Cain would lead four Tritons in double-figures with 33 points, five rebounds, and four steals. Manny Lueth added 18 points, Aleix Sempiere had 16 points and pulled down 10 rebounds, and Jalen Wynter finished with 10 points.
"They rose up, met the challenge, and exceeded it. Jordan, Manny, and Aleix were big time players in the second half. Jalen stepped up and ran the offense from the point and controlled the game," said Coach Denholm on the Tritons determination to find a way to win. "Jaxson (Cathcart), Carter (Loney), and Jon (Roberts) gave us really important minutes of the bench and a ton of credit to Dorian (Pruitt) for not letting his offensive struggles effect his defensive urgency, that's hard for a young player to do. Each guy contributed to the win in their own way. I'm proud of our effort tonight."
Up next for the Tritons is a trip to Iowa Falls, IA on Wednesday (1/7) for a matchup with #4 Ellsworth (14-1). Tip is set for7:30 PM at Dittmer Gym.
Statistical Leaders vs. Iowa Western –
Points – Jordan Cain (23), Manny Lueth (18), Aleix Sempere (16), Jalen Wynter (10), Dorian Pruitt (5)
Rebounds – Aleix Sempere (10), Jordan Cain (5), Manny Lueth (4), Dorian Pruitt (4), Tashun Pender (4)
Assists – Manny Lueth (3), Dorian Pruitt (2), Jalen Wynter (1), Aleix Sempere (1), Tashun Pender (1)
Steals – Jordan Cain (4), Manny Lueth (2), Dorian Pruitt (1), Jalen Wynter (1)