NORTH MANCHESTER, Ind. – The Trine University men's basketball team pulled away from the Manchester University Spartans late in the second half to claim a 82-71 victory on the road Tuesday.
The Thunder make it two for their first two and defeat Manchester in their home and season opener.
Senior Aiden Warzecha [Milford, Mich. / Milford] was a major piece for the Thunder on both the offensive and defensive ends tonight. He scored 14 points and was 4-for-4 from beyond the arc in the game and dished out eight assists, tying his career high.
"We know each and every night, it might be someone else's night," Warzecha mentioned postgame. "My teammates found me early in the night and I hit a few that got our confidence going as a team, and late in the game I was getting everyone else involved with screening and back cutting."
The opening minutes of play were a three-point shooting barrage, with each team trading long balls, including two from Warzecha in the first five minutes.
An 8-0 Spartan run gave Manchester a 16-11 edge, with dribble penetration and corner three's killing the Thunder in the early stages of play. "Talking is the biggest thing - sometimes we ran to the right spots, but we weren't communicating enough so we were a step slow," the senior continued. "We picked up our ball pressure, picked up our talk and it helped us to be in the right gaps and took some charges in the second half."
A 12-3 scoring spurt allowed the number seven team in the country to regain momentum and the lead. The run was capped off by an Emmanuel Megnanglo [Cotonou, Benin / Amelia Academy] banked three from the top of the key.
Physical play was abundant in the first, with Trine not taking their first attempt at the free throw line until two minutes remaining in the half. The Thunder entered the intermission with a 37-31 lead, Warzecha leading the scoring with 11, and 3-for-3 from long range.
Immediately coming out of the break, Head Coach Brooks Miller fed Brent Cox [Kendallville, Ind. / East Noble] in the low post. That resulted in scores on the first two possessions, a post-move by Cox and a kick-out three to Warzecha. Cox also led the team with seven rebounds on the night.
Manchester would not go away quietly and cut the gap to as little as three before a Trine timeout shifted momentum. Five straight points off the break by the Thunder put the visitors back up by eight at 50-42 before the Spartans countered with a timeout of their own.
Big man Mitchell Geller [Huntington, Ind. / Huntington North] was huge in the second period for Trine, scoring six points and creating action inside. Geller found Bryce Williams on a kick-out three to make it 59-51 with 11:05 to play.
Manchester scored seven in a row to force a timeout with 8:42 left. From there, the Thunder were able to rattle off 10 in a row to hush quiet the crowd. A pair of three's from Williams highlighted a 12-point second half for the senior.
"That's where our experience comes into play," Warzecha said. "This team has been together for two years and we've battled adversity. Our experience takes over late in games during those runs."
The Thunder maintained a double-digit advantage for the duration of the game and late free throw shooting iced the 82-71 victory.
Nick Bowman [Angola, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern] was able to stuff the stat sheet once again. He finished with a game-high 26 points, pulled down six boards, snatched six steals and distributed three assists on 10-of-18 shooting.
As a team, Trine shot 52.7% (29-of-55) from the field, and 60.9% (14-of-23) from deep. The Thunder assisted on 22 of their 29 made field goals and forced 24 turnovers on 17 steals.
Trine will have one week to prepare for Benedictine University out of Illinois. That game on Tuesday, November 16 at MTI Center. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 pm.