ALLIANCE, OHIO -- Trine University senior Myles Copeland (Perrysburg, Ohio/Toledo St. John's) scored a team-high 17 points in a 105-66 loss against the University of Mount Union as part of the Mount Union Holiday Classic in Alliance, Ohio.
The Thunder shot 41.4 percent for the game (24-of-58), but could not overcome the hot shooting by the Purple Raiders who converted an impressive 67.2 percent (39-of-58) of their attempts, including an equally impressive 61.5 percent from three-point range (16-of-26).
Senior Pete Smith (Bristol, Ind./Northridge) scored the first points of the game with a three-pointer to give Trine (7-3) the early lead. Following an ensuing triple by Mount Union (10-1) to even the game at 3-3, junior Langston Johnson (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central) put the Thunder ahead again with a jumper on Trine's next trip down the floor to make it a 5-3 ball game.
But that would be the final lead Trine would have during the game as the Purple Raiders went on a 10-0 scoring run to take the lead for good, 13-5. Mount Union recorded its first double-digit lead with 13:40 to play in the first half with a score of 18-8.
Trine pulled to within six points just past the midway point of the period following a layup by freshman Bryce Williams (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold) that made the score, 25-19. Mount Union eventually extended its lead back to double figures later in the half and went on to lead by as many as 16 points en route to having a 45-31 advantage at halftime.
The second half saw Trine shoot 46.4 percent, but the home team would shoot a sizzling 75.9 percent (22-of-29) for the final 20 minutes and was nine-of-12 (75.0 percent) from long range. The hot shooting translated to 60 points for the Purple Raiders in the half who quickly surpassed the 20-point lead plateau less than four minutes in with a score of 61-40 at the 16:33 mark.
Mount Union continued to pull away and went on to lead by as many as 39 points on two occasions, including a final score of 105-66.
Trine will conclude the two-day event when it takes on Thomas More (Ky.) College tomorrow (Saturday, Dec. 29) in Alliance, Ohio. The game is scheduled to begin at 1 p.m.