ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine University men's basketball team fell to Olivet (Mich.) College, 70-61, despite a 20-point effort by senior Myles Copeland (Perrysburg, Ohio/Toledo St. John's) and a double-double by sophomore Maurice Hunter (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association game at the MTI Center.
Copeland finished with a game-high 21 points on nine-of-21 shooting (42.9 percent) and also had seven rebounds. Hunter recorded his third-straight double-double with 12 points to go along with a game and season-high 17 rebounds. Two other players finished in double digits in scoring for Trine with junior Pete Smith (Bristol, Ind./Northridge) and sophomore Langston Johnson (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central) both having 11 points each.
Trine (9-11, 5-4 MIAA) had a slim two-point advantage, 8-6, at the 16:36 mark when Olivet (11-9, 6-3 MIAA) went on a 12-0 scoring run to take a 10-point lead, 18-8, and never looked back. A jumper by Copeland ended the Comet run and sparked a streak of six consecutive points to pull the Thunder to within four points, 18-14, with 10:17 to go in the first half.
But that was as close as Trine got the rest of the period as Olivet extended its lead back to over double figures before the end of the half and took a 32-21 margin into the locker rooms.
Trine outscored Olivet, 40-38, in the second half and fought back to make it a one-possession game, 48-46, at the 8:21 mark off of another bucket by Copeland. The Comets responded by going on an 8-0 spurt to lead by 10 points, 56-46, with just under five-and-a-half minutes remaining.
The Comets then went shot-for-shot with the Thunder the rest of the game to maintain a comfortable margin on the scoreboard en route to the 70-61 final.
Olivet had four players score in double figures, led by Tracy Edmond with 18 points in addition to nine assists and six rebounds.
Trine will travel to Adrian, Mich. for a MIAA contest against Adrian College on Saturday, Feb. 3. The game is scheduled for a 3 p.m. tip-off.