ANGOLA, Ind. – Trine defeated Defiance, 68-62, in the season opener Tuesday night in Hershey Hall.
A 10-0 run by Trine midway through the second half allowed the Thunder to take the lead and never give it back. Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind. / Zionsville) led Trine with 20 points. Ellis Cummings (Ottawa Hills, Ohio / Ottawa Hills) followed with a career high of 16 points on a 7-of-11 effort from the floor. Kyle Dodson (Centerville, Ohio / Centerville) contributed to the offense with 13 points and Myles Copeland (Toledo, Ohio / St. John's) added 10, including two dunks. Trine advances to 1-0 on the season and Defiance falls to 0-1.
The Yellow Jackets offense was led by Michael Parker with 16 points, followed by Devin Mangas with 10. Chris Holmes added eight rebounds.
Trine's sound defense held Defiance to 28.1 shooting percentage (9-of-32) in the second half, while Trine shot 62.5 percent (15-of-24) from the floor. Cummings led the team with four blocks and 13 rebounds, earning the second double-double of his career. Dixon had three blocks to contribute to the defensive effort and Kamron Herrington (Lapel, Ind. / Lapel) had three steals.
The Yellow Jackets got the early lead in the opening minutes, but an 11-0 run by the Thunder gave them a 17-9 lead half way through the first half. Defiance was able to hit two threes to give them the lead going into half time, 31-28.
At half, the Yellow Jackets were shooting 44.8 percent (13-of-29) and holding Trine to 28.6 percent (10-of-35). Defiance shot 57.1 percent (4-of-7) from beyond the three point line in the first half. Dodson led the Thunder's offense in the first half with nine points.
The Thunder return to action at Hershey Hall, Friday Nov. 18, when they host Kenyon in the St. Andrews Products Classic. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m. The St. Andrews Classic will open with a game between Albion and Ohio Wesleyan at 5:30 p.m.
Article courtesy Cody Konieczki, Trine University, Communications New Media '17
