ANGOLA, Ind.-- The Trine men's basketball team defeated Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 65-54 in the final game of the St. Andrews Products Classic Sunday afternoon in Hershey Hall.
The win gives the Thunder its best nine-game start (8-1) since beginning the 1989-90 campaign with an 8-1 mark. Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind./Zionsville) reached the 1,000-career point milestone with 19 points on the afternoon. Dixon scored 19 points, grabbed eight rebounds, notched two assists and a pair of steals. Charlie Noone paced the Titans with 17 points. Trine's victory snapped Wisconsin-Oshkosh's six-game winning streak. The Thunder have now won six-straight games. The Titans fell to 6-3 overall.
Trine was able to keep a Titan offense that entered the weekend averaging over 80 points per game in check. The Thunder held the Titans to a season-low 33 percent (20-of-60) effort from the floor. As of the last NCAA rankings, Trine was ranked fifth in the nation in scoring defense. Oshkosh entered the weekend shooting 48.9 percent from the field.
Jared Holmquist (Reed City, Mich./Reed City) narrowly missed another double-double, scoring 18 points and grabbing nine rebounds. Holmquist battled through an injury to average 15 points and 13 rebounds in the two games of the St. Andrews Products Classic.
The Thunder also got key contributions off the bench from Jordan Kreglow (Gibsonburg, Ohio/Gibsonburg), Austin Woolett (Goshen, Ind./Goshen) and Sloan Whitaker (Van Wert, Ohio/Lincolnview). Kreglow scored six points on a pair of threes, while Woolett added six points on 3-of-4 shooting. Whitaker factored strongly into the defensive work and grabbed five rebounds.
Trine scored its first four buckets of the game on threes as Dixon, Kreglow, Tarvis Malone (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) and Kyle Dodson (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) knocked down shots from long-distance. The Thunder only faced one deficit in the entire game at 2-0, but never gained more than six points separation in the first half.
Defense was the story as the Thunder pulled away in the early stages of the second half. Trine held the Titans without a field goal for a span of 6:29 as they turned a 28-all tie into a 39-28 advantage. A desperation three by Nick Olson from 30 feet with the shot-clock winding down stopped the drought for Oshkosh.
Dixon accounted for six points during that 11-point Trine run. Another Dixon bucket pushed the lead back into double-digits as Trine continued to pull away. Overall, the Thunder outscored the Titans 17-3 over a span of eight minutes to open up a 45-31 lead with 10:12 to play.
Oshkosh was able to pull back within 45-37, but a 7-0 spurt by the Thunder that included a Dodson three pushed the score back to a 15-point game and kept Trine securely in control the rest of the way.
Trine will return to action Wednesday, Dec. 30 when the Thunder host Manchester as part of a doubleheader. Tip-off is slated for 7 p.m., or 30 minutes after the preceding women's game between Trine and the Spartans.