KALAMAZOO, MICH. -- Junior Pete Smith (Bristol, Ind./Northridge) scored all of his game-high 33 points from behind the three-point line with a school-record 11 three-pointers to lead the Trine University men's basketball team to a 74-57 win against Kalamazoo (Mich.) College.
Smith's 11 triples beats out the previous Trine single-game mark of 10 made three-pointers that was done by Matt Schlegelmilch against Concordia (Mich.) University during the 1996-97 season. Smith connected on a string of eight straight three-pointers, including a perfect six-of-six in the first half, before recording his first miss near the midway point of the second half. He ended the game shooting 11-of-14 overall (78.6 percent) and 11-of-13 (84.6 percent) from behind the arc. In addition to his 33 points, Smith also had a game-tying high five assists.
Trine had one other player score in double figures in junior Myles Copeland (Perrysburg, Ohio/Toledo St. John's) with 19 points.
As a team, the Thunder shot 46.4 percent (26-of-56) and an even 50.0 percent (12-of-24) from long range. The team's only other made triple in the game came off the hands of sophomore Langston Johnson (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central).
The two teams swapped leads four times in the opening minutes of the first half before Trine (8-9, 4-2 MIAA) took the lead for good as part of a 16-2 scoring run that ended in a jumper by Copeland to give the Thunder a 13-point lead, 23-10, at the 10:19 mark. Kalamazoo (6-11, 1-5 MIAA) answered the run with a 7-2 run of its own to cut the deficit to single figures, 25-17, with 8:20 to go in the half.
A tre by Smith, followed by a three-point play by sophomore Jason Clune (Meadville, Pa./Meadville), quieted the run and pushed the lead back to double-digits, 31-17, at the 7:01 mark. Trine eventually went on to lead by as many as 18 points, 41-23, before the Hornets gained a little momentum heading into the break by outscoring the Thunder, 8-2, to end the half and make it a 12-point game, 43-31.
The Thunder opened the second half with an 8-1 run, capped by a three-pointer by Smith, to record their first 20-point lead of the game, 53-32, with 18:03 to play. Kalamazoo would not threaten the Trine lead the rest of the way as the Thunder posted their largest margin of the game of 27 points, 64-37, with 10:37 remaining after a pair of free-throws by junior Marcus Winters (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic).
The final points of the game for Trine were scored by Smith with his 11th three-pointer of the game as the Thunder went to win by the final score of 74-57.
KZOO shot 40.4 percent (21-of-52) overall, but was just 21.1 percent (four-of-19) from long range. The Hornets had a pair of players score in double figures, led by Jimmy Paprocki with 15 points and Ben Reiter added 10 points.
Trine will go for a possible third straight victory when it hosts Alma (Mich.) College on Wednesday, Jan. 24 at the MTI Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.