ANGOLA, IND.-- After a tight first half, Trine's men's basketball team pulled away from Alma to earn a 84-63 victory over the Scots in MIAA-action Wednesday night in Hershey Hall.
After a Chase Fairchild three knotted the score at 47-47 with 15:38 to play, the Thunder took control to outscore Alma 36-16 the rest of the way. Jared Holmquist (Reed City, Mich./Reed City) notched a double-double, scoring a career-high 28 points to go along with 10 rebounds to lead Trine. Holmquist has scored 20 or more points in three straight games. He is averaging 24.3 points on 70 percent shooting during that span. Paced by Holmquist, the Thunder outscored the Scots 38-16 in the paint. DJ Beckman led Alma with 24 points on 8-of-10 shooting, connecting on 5-of-6 attempts from three-point range. Trine improves to 14-8 overall and 7-4 in MIAA play. The win ensures the Thunder can finish no worse than a tie for fourth in the MIAA. Alma falls to 4-17 overall, 3-7 in MIAA action.
Tyler Good (Swanton, Ohio/Evergreen) scored 19 points on 6-of-13 shooting for Trine. Dustin Hall (Fort Wayne, Ind./South Side) added a career-high 12 points on 4-of-5 shooting. Nick Tatu (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) came off the bench to provide a spark with 12 points. Trine shot 55 percent from the field (29-of-53) and are shooting 55 percent over their three-game winning streak.
Scott Nikodemski notched nine points and dished out six assists for Alma. Isiah Law added eight points and four assists. The Scots hit 49 percent from the field (23-of-47), including 9-of-19 from three-point range (48 percent). Alma committed 16 turnovers, which Trine turned into 23 points.
Beckman's hot shooting kept Alma in the game through the first 25-minutes of play. The Sophomore hit 7-of-9 from the field and scored 20 points through the 15:38 mark of the second half. After Fairchild's three tied the score however, it was all Trine the rest of the way.
A 9-2 run featuring a three and a jumper by Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind./Zionsville) and a pair of buckets by Holmquist opened up a seven-point lead. Holmquist scored 11 of his points in the first seven-minutes of the second half.
After a Jake Murawske three cut the score to 56-52 with 11:56 remaining, the Thunder responded with 10-2 spurt to take their first double-digit lead of the night. Tatu knocked down back-to-back threes to highlight that stretch. Alma would not cut the Trine lead to single-digits the rest of the night.
Trine will put their three-game winning streak on the line when they host second-place Calvin this Saturday, Feb. 15 at 1:00 p.m. in Hershey Hall. The game will be big for seeding in the upcoming MIAA Tournament, with the Thunder trailing the Knights by two games for second-place and holding a one-game lead on Albion for third.