FRANKLIN, IND.-- Trine pulled away from Franklin in the second half to earn a 68-51 victory over the Grizzlies Tuesday night at the Spurlock Center.
A 13-4 run over the first 4:48 of the second half turned a three-point halftime lead into Trine's first double-digit advantage. The Thunder lead shrunk no smaller than nine the rest of the way. Tyler Good (Swanton, Ohio/Evergreen) had everything working offensively for Trine, scoring 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting. He knocked down both of his three-point attempts, and connected on 8-of-10 from the charity stripe. The Thunder converted 14 Franklin turnovers into 22 points, while committing just five turnovers themselves. No Franklin player scored in double-figures. Trine improves to 1-2 on the season. The Grizzlies fall to 0-4.
Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind/Zionsville) scored 19 points on 8-of-18 shooting for Trine. He knocked down a season-best 3-of-5 from three-point range. Jared Holmquist (Reed City, Mich./Reed City) added 11 points and seven rebounds. He moved into second on Trine's rebounding list in the Division-III era, and now has 354 boards in his career.
Trine shot 44 percent from the field (22-of-50), and hit 5-of-11 three-point attempts (46 percent). The Thunder got to the line 23 times, and knocked down 19 of those attempts (83 percent).
Jim Mace, Robbie Prather, and Brett McCory led Franklin with eight points apiece. The Grizzlies shot 35 percent from the field (15-of-42), and were 4-of-10 (40 percent) from long distance. Franklin knocked down 17-of-20 free throw attempts (85 percent).
The first half was a see-saw affair that saw seven ties and 13 lead changes. A six-point burst in the closing minutes of the first half gave the Thunder a lead they would not relinquish the rest of the night. Good scored four-straight points, and Dixon added a layup to make the score 33-28 with 1:56 remaining. The Grizzlies would cut that lead to three going into the half.
Trine jumped all over Franklin with the 13-4 burst to open the second half. Back-to-back threes by Dixon and Good gave the Thunder their first double-digit lead of the night at 44-34 with 16:13 to play. Good capped the run with another jumper to make the score 46-34.
The Grizzlies were never able to cut their deficit to under nine the rest of the way. The last time that happened was after a pair of Prather free throws cut the score to 50-41 with just under 10 minutes to play. Good answered back with four-straight points, and the Grizzlies never closed within single digits the rest of the way.
Trine returns to action this Saturday, Nov. 29 when they face Earlham in the HCAC/MIAA Challenge at Manchester University. Tip-off is scheduled for 1 p.m.