ANDERSON, IND. -- The Trine University men's basketball team shot 58.6 percent and outscored Anderson, 41-28, in the first half, which led to a 78-72 victory against the Ravens in non-conference action in Anderson, Ind.
Anderson (1-3) scored the first five points of the game and led by as many as eight points in the early minutes of the opening half. The Ravens maintained a four-point lead, 13-9, at the 13 minute mark when Trine (3-1) began to make its move. The Thunder held Anderson to just 30.0 percent shooting from the field (six-of-20) and took control of the period with a 20-3 scoring run that was a capped by a three-point play by senior Ellis Cummings (Ottawa Hills, Ohio/Ottawa Hills) and gave Trine a 29-16 advantage with just under five minutes to go in the half.
The home team worked its way back to make it a seven point game, 33-26, with 2:39 to play, but Trine ended the period with an 8-2 run that included a three-pointer by junior Jason Clune (Meadville, Pa./Meadville) to make the score, 41-28, at halftime.
Trine continued to shoot well in the second half, but the edge went in favor of Anderson who converted 55.2 percent of its attempts and led to a 44-37 scoring advantage in the final 20 minutes. The Thunder lead remained in double figures for the majority of the half with a large lead of 19 points, 61-42, with 10:37 left to play following a bucket by junior Maurice Hunter (Monroe, Mich./Monroe).
Leading by 18 points at the 8:03 mark after a layup by sophomore Maurice Scott, Jr. (South Bend, Ind./Riley) that made the score, 66-48, Anderson tallied nine unanswered points to trim the deficit down to single figures, 66-57, with just under four minutes to go. The Ravens continued to chip away at the Thunder lead and found themselves down by only four points, 76-72, late in the game. Anderson wouldn't score again, however, as Trine added a pair of free-throws down the stretch to secure the six-point victory, 78-72.
As a team, Trine shot 51.7 percent overall for the game (30-of-58), including 47.1 percent from three-point range (eight-of-17) and 83.3 percent at the free-throw line (10-of-12).
The duo of Hunter and senior Pete Smith (Bristol, Ind./Northridge) led the Thunder in scoring with 18 points each. Hunter made seven-of-nine field goal attempts (77.8 percent), while Smith shot five-of-13 overall (38.5 percent) and was five-of-six at the charity stripe (83.3 percent). He was also one of three players to tally a game-tying high four assists.
Two other players scored in double figures in junior Langston Johnson (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central) who had 11 points and senior Myles Copeland (Perrysburg, Ohio/Toledo St. John's) added 10 points.
Cummings led all players in rebounding with a game-high 12 boards in addition to scoring seven points.
Trine will return to action next Tuesday, Nov. 27 when it travels to North Manchester, Ind. to take on Manchester University. The two teams are set to square off at 7 p.m.