HOLLAND, Mich.-- The Trine men's basketball team had its MIAA Tournament title hopes dashed by No. 19 Alma as the Scots earned a 62-54 victory to take home the championship.
The Scots held the Thunder to 23 percent shooting in the second half and got 18 points from bench players to claim their first ever MIAA Tournament championship. Jared Holmquist (Reed City, Mich./Reed City) scored a game-high 17 points and grabbed 12 rebounds to pace the Thunder. The double-double was the senior's 10th of the season. Chase Fairchild and Scott Nikodemski each scored 15 points to lead the Scots. Fairchild knocked down 3-of-8 from long range.
Holmquist's performance gave the senior 548 points this season, the most by any Trine player since the school joined NCAA Division III in 2004. The senior concludes his career having scored 1,540 points- the ninth-most in team history. He averaged 27.8 points on 61 percent shooting over his final four games.
Nikodemski finished 5-of-10 from the field and added two assists for Alma. Doug Bradfield and Jason Beckman each added eight points. Alma shot 45 percent (21-of-47) from the field and knocked down 13-of-14 foul shots (93 percent).
Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind./Zionsville) added 15 points for the Thunder. Kyle Dodson (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) knocked down three treys on his way to 11 points on 3-of-5 shooting. Trine shot 36 percent overall (20-of-56).
Each team came out in a rhythm offensively. The Thunder hit five of its first seven three-point attempts over the first 12:21 of action. Dodson knocked down three of those treys, while Tarvis Malone (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) and Dixon each added threes. Alma would take a 41-34 lead into the half as the Scots shot 55 percent (16-of-29) from the field. Trine kept pace by knocking down 50 percent (13-of-26) of its attempts.
Defenses took over in the second half as neither team shot better than 30 percent. The Thunder closed the deficit to 48-47 with 8:07 to play with a 7-0 run. Two Holmquist jumpers and a three by Malone provided the scoring.
Alma's defense allowed the Scots to earn the victory down the stretch. Trine was able to knock down just two of its 11 attempts from the field. Nikodemski scored six of the Scots last 14 points to close out the victory.
Trine concludes the season 18-9 overall, having earned its most wins as a member of Division III. The Thunder advanced to the MIAA Championship for the first time in program history.
