ANGOLA, Ind.-- A lockdown defensive effort led Trine to a 62-47 victory over Calvin in MIAA-action Wednesday night in Hershey Hall.
The Thunder shut down the Knights to a scoring output 30 points below their season average. Calvin shot just 35 percent from the field (18-of-51), including a 4-of-19 (21 percent) effort from three-point range. The Knights entered the contest shooting 49.3 percent on the year, a mark that ranked 18th in the nation. MIAA-leading scorer Jordan Brink was held to a season-low five points on a 2-of-10 shooting effort. Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind./Zionsville) paced the offensive effort with 21 points. Trine improves to 11-5 overall, 4-1 in the MIAA. Calvin falls to 11-5, 4-1 in conference play. The Thunder and Knights are tied for first place, with Trine leading by virtue of the head-to-head tiebreaker.
Jake Bagley (Van Wert, Ohio/Van Wert) grabbed a career-high 14 rebounds for the Thunder, including five on the offensive end. His effort helped Trine hold a 39-32 edge on the glass. Calvin entered the game with a plus-9.3 rebounding margin, which ranked ninth in the nation.
Jared Holmquist (Reed City, Mich./Reed City) added 19 points and seven rebounds. Tyler Good (Swanton, Ohio/Evergreen) scored 15 points on an efficient 5-of-8 shooting. Ben Syroka (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer) dished out a career-high eight assists without committing a turnover. The Thunder committed just six turnovers in the contest, while turning 10 Calvin miscues into 23 points.
Connor Vanderbrug came off the bench to score 14 points on 5-of-11 shooting to lead the Knights. Brad Visser added eight points. No Calvin starter topped five points on the evening.
A 17-4 surge over a span of nearly seven minutes opened up a 21-9 Trine lead with 7:49 to play in the first half. The Knights cut the lead to single digits late in the half and were holding for the final shot, but Dixon made a big defensive play with a steal, then drained a shot as time expired to give the Thunder a 29-18 lead at the half.
The Thunder came out firing early in the second half, starting on a 13-0 run to open up a 24-point lead. Trine held Calvin without a field goal for a span of 6:22 between the close of the first half and the end of their 13-point run. The Thunder would go on to lead by as much as 26.
Calvin turned up the pressure late to cut into the Trine lead, but the Knights were unable to close the deficit to single digits.
Trine returns to action this Saturday, Jan. 24 when they host Albion at 3 p.m. in Hershey Hall.
