ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's basketball team fell short in a comeback effort against the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse on Saturday afternoon 68-61. The Thunder were in a 21-point halftime hole, but fought back in the closing minutes to give themselves a chance down the stretch.
It is the second straight loss for Trine (5-3) and La Crosse (8-2) bounces back from a pair of conference losses one week ago.
The number 13 team in NCAA DIII La Crosse Eagles forced Thunder head coach Brooks Miller into a timeout just over two minutes in following scores on three of the first four possessions for the opponents went unanswered.
A steal and dunk by Nick Bowman [Angola, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern] sparked some life into the MTI crowd, but excellent interior passing by the Eagles thwarted Trine attempts to take the lead.
La Crosse went into halftime holding a 40-19 lead. The Eagles shot 65.4% (17-for-26) from the field in the first and buried 4-of-7 attempts from beyond the arc. 11 of the 17 made baskets were assisted. On the other side, Trine struggled to find an answer, going just 8-for-25 (32.0%) overall and came up empty on all seven shots from deep.
The second half would be a much different story. Aiden Warzecha [Milford, Mich. / Milford] scored the first four points of the second and Connor Jones [Danville, Ind. / Danville] made it six unanswered to start the period.
A three by the Eagles gave the opponents their largest lead of the game at 53-30 with 12 minutes left in the game. From there, the Thunder pushed the pace and got into rhythm offensively and defensively. Mitchell Geller [Huntington, Ind. / Huntington North] got three the old fashion way on the next possession to cut into the Eagle advantage.
Bowman and Warzecha continued the scoring in bunches trend and rattled off six in a row and Trine called time to keep fresh legs facing a 13-point deficit still, 56-43. Warzecha and Connor Jones made it a 10-0 scoring spurt.
Down 12 with three minutes left on the clock, Bryce Williams [Archbold, Ohio / Archbold] knocked down the first Thunder three-point field goal of the game to bring the deficit to single digits. He connected again with just under two minutes left to make the score 63-55. A timeout once again gave the home team a chance to regroup for a final push.
A Warzecha three with 34 ticks left got it to 67-61, the closest the score had been since the opening minutes, but there just was not enough time to complete the comeback as Trine ultimately fell 68-61.
The Thunder outscored the opposition 42-28 over the final 20 minutes and forced La Crosse into nine turnovers. Warzecha scored 14 points in the second stanza and finished the game with 16 points, a career-high. Bowman was the scoring leader with 17 points. Connor Jones led the team by bringing in eight boards.
Trine will attempt to snap the losing streak on Saturday, December 18 when the Thunder travel to Anderson University. That game tips off at 4 pm.