ADRIAN, MICH.—Trine's men's basketball team gutted out a 60-51 win over Adrian in MIAA –action Thursday evening in Merillat Gym.
A 21-11 surge to open the second half helped Trine open up a double-digit lead they would hold through most of the second half. Jared Holmquist (Reed City, Mich./Reed City) led the way for Trine with 20 points on 7-of-11 shooting. Nick Tatu (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) came off the bench to score 14 points and hit 3-of-4 treys. Wes Reed paced Adrian with 12 points. Trine improves to 12-8 overall, 5-4 in the MIAA. Adrian falls to 5-15 overall, 1-8 in conference play.
Tyler Good (Swanton, Ohio/Evergreen) added 14 points for Trine. Dustin Hall (Fort Wayne, Ind./South Side) made a big difference with his passing, dishing out seven assists to just one turnover. Trine shot 46 percent overall (21-of-46), including 12-of-20 in the second half (60 percent).
Curtis Gordon notched 10 points for Adrian. The Bulldogs shot 31 percent overall (16-of-51) and were 13-of-23 from the free throw line (57 percent).
Holmquist went to work early in the second half, scoring the Thunder's first 10 points to spark a 10-3 run. Holmquist went to work on the block, converting two old-fashioned three-point plays and taking advantage of an undersized Adrian front-line. The hot start to the second half gave Trine their first double-digit lead at 35-23 with 15:14 to play.
Holmquist's muscle inside helped open up the perimeter for Tatu, who drained back-to-back threes. Tatu was fouled on the second of those threes and converted the free throw to make the score 42-29 with 14:05 on the clock. That effort was part of a 21-11 surge to start the second half for the Thunder. Holmquist scored 18 points in the second half.
Adrian would not pull within single-digits until a three by Wesley Reed cut the score to 54-45 with inside of three minutes remaining in the contest. The Bulldogs would pull within 55-50 with 49 seconds remaining after a pair of free throws by Reed, but that was as close as Adrian would get.
Trine plays the second of two-straight on the road Saturday, Feb. 8 when they travel to Kalamazoo. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00 p.m. A Trine win would keep the Thunder in sole-possession of fourth-place in the MIAA.