ALBION, MICH.-- A late second half run by Trine's men's basketball team fell just short as the Thunder fell to Albion in MIAA action at Kresge Gymnasium.
After trailing by as many as 15, the Thunder fought back to cut the deficit to two, but were unable to get any closer. A 19-6 surge to close the first half helped Albion take the lead, and a later 11-2 surge in the second half stretched the Britons' lead to 15. Jordan Herron led four Britons in double-figures with 15 points and six rebounds. Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind./Zionsville) paced Trine with 25 points on 10-of-15 shooting. Dixon has now topped 20 points four times this season. Trine falls to 10-7 overall and 3-3 in the MIAA. Albion improves to 11-6 overall, 5-1 in the conference.
Tyler Good (Swanton, Ohio/Evergreen) scored 20 points on 8-of-16 shooting for Trine. Todd Watkins (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Bernard) added 10 points and seven rebounds. The Thunder shot 48 percent from the field (26-of-54) and held a 40-32 edge in the paint.
Lawrence Ridgell scored 13 points, while Zach Hurth came off the bench score 13 on 4-of-4 shooting for Albion. Dakota Kazen added 10 points. The Britons shot 49 percent from the field (23-of-47) and hit 17-of-26 free throws (65 percent).
Trine led by as much as six on several occasions in the opening 12 minutes of play. Dixon paced the hot start with seven points as the Thunder built a 19-13 lead with 8:33 to play.
The rest of the first half belonged to Albion however, as the Britons outscored Trine 19-6 the rest of the way to take a 32-25 lead into the break. Hurth scored six points of an 8-0 run to give the Britons the lead for good. A three by Vince Hill as time expired capped off the strong close to the first half.
The difference would stay around seven until the 11-2 run by the Britons turned a 46-40 lead into their largest lead, 57-42, with 11:01 remaining. Once again, Hurth did the majority of the damage with five points during the run.
That run didn't completely put the Thunder away, as Trine later used a 9-0 run to pull within four. The run included four points off drives by Good, and a dunk by Watkins off a feed by Dustin Hall (Fort Wayne, Ind./South Side). A finger-roll by Good brought the score to 62-58 with 2:40 on the clock. Trine held Albion without a field goal for over eight minutes to spark the comeback.
A layup by Ridgell and a pair of free throws by Dakota Kazen pushed the lead back to eight. Good and Dixon each hit shots in the lane, while a pair of free throws by Ridgell pushed the Briton lead back to 68-62 in the closing minute. A three by Dixon cut the score to 68-65 with 18 seconds left. The Britons missed a pair of free throws after a Trine foul, but the Thunder were unable to get a clean look as time expired.
The Thunder will return to action Wednesday, Jan. 29 when they host Olivet at 7:30 p.m. in Hershey Hall. The Trine basketball teams will host Community Day Saturday, Feb. 1 starting with the men taking on Hope at 1:00 p.m .