ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine University men's basketball team erased a 12-point deficit to claim its first Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association Tournament Championship with a 64-62 win against Albion (Mich.) College at the MTI Center in Angola, Ind.
The Thunder trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half and had a 10-point deficit at halftime, 31-21, but then outscored Albion, 43-31, in period number two and took the lead for good on a three-point play by sophomore Brent Cox (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) with 16 seconds to go in regulation en route to the two-point victory.
The win also clinched a perfect season for Trine who ends the 2020-21 campaign a perfect 17-0.
A layup by Cox was the first points by either team to start off the first half, but Albion (10-4) then went on a 14-2 scoring run to lead by 10 points with just under 15 minutes before halftime. The Britons later increased their lead to 11 points multiple times, including a 23-12 margin at the 7:08 mark when a three-pointer by Cox, followed by a jumper by freshman Emmanuel Mengnanglo (Cotonou, Benin/Amelia Academy), cut the deficit to six points, 23-17, with 5:23 to go in the half.
Albion then regained momentum with an ensuing 6-1 mini run to go back up by double figures en route to posting a 12-point advantage, 31-19, with 40 seconds remaining. Junior Mitchell Geller (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) scored on a layup to end the scoring in the half and made it a 10-point game at the break, 31-21.
Trine was held to just 32.0 percent shooting (eight-of-25) in the first half, including 33.3 percent from three-point range (three-of-nine) and 28.6 percent at the free-throw line (two-of-seven). Albion shot 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from the field and outrebounded Trine, 26-11.
Coming out of the locker rooms, Trine gained new life by outscoring Albion, 14-3, in the first 4:12 to take its first lead since the 18:21 minute mark of the first half by a score of 35-34 following a pair of free-throws by junior Nick Bowman (Angola, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern).
The two teams then battled back-and-forth with four additional lead changes and four ties. Neither team led by more than five points the rest of the way that included a 45-40 lead for Trine at the 10:13 mark when Albion went on a 12-2 run to swing momentum back in favor of the Britons with a 52-47 margin with 6:33 remaining.
Trine later regained the lead as part of a streak of five unanswered points that ended in a dunk by Mengnanglo with just over a minute left and gave the Thunder a 59-56 lead. After a clutch three-pointer by Albion on its ensuing offensive possession tied the game at 59-59, Cox scored on a put-back off of a Trine miss and was fouled on the same play. Cox converted the three-point play which put Trine out in front for good. Trine then forced a turnover on Albion's next trip down the floor and sealed the victory by adding two free-throws from junior Bryce Williams (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold) to make it a five-point game, 64-59.
Albion tacked on a final three points as time expired with a successful triple, but it was the Thunder who came away with the 64-62 victory to claim their first conference tournament title.
Cox finished with a game-high 21 points on 58.3 percent shooting (seven-of-12) and also grabbed a game-tying high eight rebounds. Williams also scored in double figures with 14 points with 12 of his points coming from three-point range thanks to four triples (four-of-nine).
Junior Aiden Warzecha (Milford, Mich./Milford) dished out a game-high six assists in addition to scoring eight points.