ANGOLA, Ind.-- The Trine men's basketball team will face Hope in the MIAA Semifinals this Friday at Hope College's DeVos Fieldhouse.
The Thunder earned the No. 4 seed in the tournament after finishing the season 17-8 overall and 7-7 in conference play. The Flying Dutchmen won the regular-season conference title to earn the No. 1 seed, accumulating a 23-2 overall mark and going 13-1 in league action. The winner of Friday's semifinal matchup advances to the MIAA Tournament Championship Saturday night at DeVos Fieldhouse. Tip-off of the semifinal matchup is slated for 7:30 p.m.
Trine enters the tournament after locking up a fifth-straight semifinal berth with two wins in the closing week of the season. A win Friday would give the Thunder its first-ever appearance in the MIAA Championship.
Hope carries an 11-game winning streak into Friday's matchup. The Flying Dutchmen are ranked sixth in the nation by D3Hoops.com and fifth in the NCAA Division III Great Lakes Regional rankings.
This is the fourth-straight season the two teams have met in the MIAA Semifinals. The Dutch have won the three previous Semifinal meetings, two of which have come at DeVos Fieldhouse.
In the video below, head coach Brooks Miller discusses the 2015-16 season and previews Friday night's MIAA Semifinal matchup.
Hope won both regular-season meetings between the two teams, holding Trine to an average of 50.5 points per game in the two contests. In the first meeting, the Dutch forced the Thunder into an uncharacteristic 28 turnovers in a 23-point victory. Trine pushed Hope into the closing minutes at Hershey Hall, but the Flying Dutchmen came away with a 57-50 victory.
The Thunder once again boasted the top scoring defense in the MIAA, allowing 64.5 points per game. Trine has led the conference in scoring defense each of the last three seasons. The Thunder also rank fourth in the nation in shooting 78.8 percent from the free throw line.
Jared Holmquist (Reed City, Mich./Reed City) is coming off his third MIAA Player of the Week honor this year and averaged 30.5 points in the last two games. The senior ranked second in the conference in averaging 21.2 points per game and notched nine double-doubles this year. Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind./Zionsville) adds 17 points per game, while Kyle Dodson (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) is shooting 57 percent from the field over the last four games.
Hope ranked second in the MIAA in scoring defense and free throw percentage. The Dutch boasted the best turnover margin and assist-to-turnover ratio in the conference. Hope has outscored its opponents by an average of 11.8 points per game this season.
The Flying Dutchmen are led by four players that have earned all-conference honors in their career. Guards Ben Gardner and Alex Eidson provide scoring punch from the outside, while Harrison Blackledge and Brock Benson provide the inside muscle. Hope has seven players who average more than six points per game.
This year is the first year the MIAA has held the conference tournament at one location. The conference champion serves as the host for all games in the tournament. Saturday's championship game is slated for 8 p.m.