ANGOLA, IND.-- The Trine men's basketball team will open their regular-season this Saturday at Heidelberg.
The Thunder and Student Princes will tip-off the 2014-15 season at 5:30 p.m. Trine previously played an exhibition contest at Division-1 foe Indiana State, which the Thunder dropped by a 68-54 final. Trine was picked to finish third in the MIAA by the conference coaches in the league's preseason poll. The Thunder return five players with starting experience, including their three leading-scorers from last season. Trine finished last season 15-11 overall, and finished third in the conference with an 8-6 mark.
Headlining Trine's returners is Tyler Good (Swanton, Ohio/Evergreen), who averaged a team-best 15.2 points per game on 43 percent shooting during his junior season. He is joined by junior forward Jared Holmquist (Reed City, Mich./Reed City), who averaged 12.6 points and 7.4 rebounds per contest last year.
Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind./Zionsville) led the MIAA in steals in his freshman campaign, and returns to run the point. Dixon averaged 14.9 points per game last season. Seniors Dustin Hall (Fort Wayne, Ind./South Side) and Jake Bagley (Van Wert, Ohio/Van Wert) also return after seeing time in last season's starting lineup, and figure to provide leadership as key rotation pieces.
Trine has a tradition of excellent defense, having finished in the top three in the conference defensively in every season under head coach Brooks Miller. The team will also look to continue taking care of the basketball at a high level after finishing second in the nation in fewest turnovers per game last year.
The Thunder will welcome seven newcomers to the program this winter, including four incoming freshman. Trine got promising performances from several newcomers in the exhbition at Indiana State, and will look to continued development from that group to provide depth.
The home-opener for the Thunder comes Tuesday, Nov. 19 when they host Elmhurst at 7:30 p.m. in Hershey Hall. Conference play opens Wednesday, Jan. 7 at home against Hope.
For the complete schedule, click HERE.