ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine University men's basketball team posted 59 points in the second half to run away with a 104-74 victory against Albion (Mich.) College in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association matchup at the MTI Center.
Trine led by just two points at the half, 45-43, and then outscored Albion, 59-31, in the second on its way to the 30-point blowout. Three players scored over 20 points for the Thunder led by sophomore Langston Johnson (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central) with a game-high 24 points on nine-of-17 shooting (52.9 percent). Senior Myles Copeland (Perrysburg, Ohio/Toledo St. John's) was second with 22 points to go along with six rebounds and junior Pete Smith (Bristol, Ind./Northridge) added a season-high 21 points in addition to tallying a game-tying high six assists.
Junior Marcus Winters (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) also scored in double figures with 17 points and pulled down a team-tying high seven rebounds. Sophomore Maurice Hunter (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) tied Winters in rebounding with seven boards.
As a team, the Thunder shot 60.3 percent (38-of-63) overall, including an impressive 70.6 percent (24-of-34) in the second half. Trine also had a big night from three-point range, shooting 57.1 percent (12-of-21) for the game and a sizziling 87.5 percent (seven-of-eight) in the second half alone.
Leading by three points, 16-13, at the 13:05 mark of the first half, Trine (7-9, 3-2 MIAA) went on a 10-0 scoring run that ended in a three-point play by Copeland that gave the Thunder some breathing room, 26-13, with 10:45 remaining before halftime. Albion (4-12, 1-4 MIAA) looked to rally and chipped away at the Trine lead and climbed to within four points, 34-30, with just under six minutes to go in the period.
Trine swung momentum back in its favor as a pair of free-throws by Copeland ignited an ensuing 9-1 run to extend the margin back to double figures, 43-31, at the 3:14 mark. The seesaw pace continued as the Britons took momentum back to end the half by outscoring the home team, 12-2, to make it a one-possession game at the break, 45-43.
In the second half, the Thunder exploded for an offensive fleury as Trine outscored its opponents, 29-7, in the first 8:51 that included a streak of 16 straight points and resulted in a commanding 24-point advantage, 74-50, with 11:09 to go in the game. Albion never threatened the rest of the way as Trine inflated its lead to the 30-point plateau for the first time in the game with just under five minutes to go on one-of-two free-throws by sophomore Kelham Brown (Huntertown, Ind./Carroll).
The Thunder recorded their largest lead of the game a few minutes later when sophomore Nick Daman (Napoleon, Ohio/Napoleon) connected on a layup to make it a 98-66 ball game. With the game well secured, Trine added six more points in the final minutes to finish the game with 100 or more points for the second time this season and went to win by the final of 104-74.
Albion shot 34.3 percent (23-of-67) from the field with 32 of those attempts coming from three-point range where the Britons shot 28.1 percent (nine-of-32) for the game. Albion was led in scoring by Nathaniel Collins with 17 points.
Trine will travel to Kalamazoo, Mich. on Saturday, Jan. 20 to take on Kalamazoo College in a MIAA game beginning at 3 p.m.