ANGOLA, Ind. -- The Trine men's basketball team was unable to complete a late run as the Thunder fell to No. 8 Ohio Wesleyan 79-72 in the St. Andrews Products Classic Saturday afternoon in Hershey Hall.
Trine rallied back from down 20 to close the deficit to five with 2:20 remaining, but could get no closer. Four OWU players reached double-figures, led by Will Orr's 21 points on 7-of-13 shooting from three-point range. Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind. / Zionsville) led the Thunder with 26 points on an 11-of-18 shooting effort. Dixon has scored more than 20 points in each of the first three games this season while shooting 54 percent from the field. The loss dropped Trine's record to 2-1 on the season. The Battling Bishops improved to 2-0.
Myles Copeland (Toledo, Ohio / St. John's) added 15 points in his first career start. The sophomore has reached double-figures in each of his first three career games with the Thunder. Adam Ciszewski (Sacramento, Calif. / Bella Vista) added a spark off the bench with a career-high nine points and five rebounds. Paced by Ciszewski, Trine's bench outscored their OWU counterpart by a 19-5 margin.
The Battling Bishops got a balanced scoring effort with all five starters scoring more than eight points. All-American Nate Axelrod scored 18 points and dished out three assists. Ben Simpson added a double-double with 16 points and 11 rebounds. OWU held a 38-24 edge in points in the paint and converted 18 Thunder turnovers into 18 points.
OWU went on a 12-0 run midway through the first half to take control. The Battling Bishops led by as much as 19 in the first half. Orr scored 15 of his points in the half, while Axelrod added 10.
The Thunder cut the deficit to single digits on several occasions early in the second half, but couldn't take a serious bite out of the lead until a furious 19-4 surge over a span of 6:18 brought Trine back within five. Four consecutive threes by Kyle Dodson (Centerville, Ohio / Centerville), Dixon, Kamron Herrington (Lapel, Ind. / Lapel) and Ciszewski cut the score to 74-69 with 2:20 to play.
Trine was able to cut the deficit back to five, 76-71 with one minute to play on a bucket by Dodson, but a layup by Simpson with the shot-clock winding down on the other end sealed the victory for OWU.
Dixon and Copeland each carried the load offensively for the Thunder in the second half. Dixon scored 18 points on 8-of-11 shooting in the final 20 minutes, while Copeland added nine points and six boards. Trine shot 58 percent (18-of-31) in the second half. Simpson's 12 points and 10 points from Grant Gossard helped OWU keep Trine's comeback hopes at bay.
The Thunder will look to regroup in its first road game of the season Wednesday, Nov. 23 at Manchester. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.
