Thunder Lock Up MIAA Tournament Bid with Victory

Thunder Lock Up MIAA Tournament Bid with Victory

ANGOLA, Ind.-- The Trine men's basketball team pulled away in the second half to beat conference foe Albion 76-66 on Senior Day Saturday afternoon.

After a tight first half, the Thunder pulled away in the second half thanks in large part to senior Jared Holmquist (Reed City, Mich./Reed City), who had a career-high 35 points. Holmquist scored the sixth-most points on record in a game in team history on 11-of-16 shooting before fouling out. He also had five rebounds and was 12-of-13 from the line. Travell Oakes paced the Britons with 20 points and nine rebounds.

The victory propelled Trine to 17-8 (7-7 in the MIAA) and clinched them the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament. Albion fell to 14-11 (10-5 in the MIAA).

Holmquist scored 21 of his 35 points in the second half. Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind./Zionsville) added 16 points, going 4-of-5 from three-point range. Kyle Dodson (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) stuffed the stat sheet with eight points, six assists, and eight rebounds, as well as two steals. The Thunder were 10-for-17 (58 percent) on threes, and shot 50 percent (24-48) from the field.

Jordan Herron and Robert Ryan each chipped in 11 points for the Britons. Herron also had six rebounds as Albion outrebounded Trine 35 to 25. They also dominated in the paint, scoring 34 points there to Trine's 18.

The shots were falling early and often as both teams traded buckets throughout the first half. The Thunder went into halftime up 35-33. After Albion tied the game early in the second half, Dodson hit a three a minute in to put Trine back up, and they never looked back. The Thunder led by as much as 16 and had a 12-2 run at one point.

Trine opens up MIAA Tournament play next Friday, February 26, against Hope at Hope. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.

Article contributed by Grant Tingley, Trine University, Communications '19