Leadership from sophomore Jordan Majeed and a strong effort off the bench by Kyler Matthias helped the Iowa Central men improve to 2-1 on the season here Saturday inside Hodges Fieldhouse.

Majeed scored 17 points and Matthias added 12 as the Tritons clawed past Rochester Tech, 54-48.

"Regardless of how you look at it, getting a win is the important thing," Iowa Central head coach Chad Helle said. "Did we play our best basketball? Not at all, but we found a way to get the win and last year, we might not have done that.

"Jordan stepped up big and showed how much growth he has since last year and Kyler came on and provided a spark that we really needed."

Bo Barber added 10 points with two assists and two steals, Javonte Keck made his return to the floor and scored seven points with three steals, and both Kael Stulo and Josh Baker had two steals. 

Rochester Tech, making its season debut, used an early 9-0 run to take the lead. They maintained control through the beginning stages of the first half before the Tritons (2-1 overall) found some rhythm.

Barber knocked down three 3-pointers and Matthias had five points to spark the run as Iowa Central took a slim 24-22 lead into the break.

"When we were patient and attacked, we had success on offense," Helle said. "But honestly, I'm just impressed with our defensive effort. We made them take difficult shots and we were very aggressive. Early in the year, defense can be tough to focus on, but our guys have really bought into that aspect of the game."

Iowa Central fell in a five-point hole to begin the second half before relying on Matthias and Majeed. Over the final 20 minutes, Majeed scored 15 points and Matthias added seven.

"Rochester is a good team that is going to have a good year," Helle said. "We're going to look back on this win and be proud of it."

Devyn Frye led the Yellowjackets with 10 points and both Quest McCrimon and Quincy Burland added seven each. 

The Tritons return to action on Tuesday night when they host the Grand View JV. 

-By Dana Becker