ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's basketball team used a 59-point first half and tied the school record for assists in a game with 29 to claim a 100-48 victory in MTI Center over Olivet College. Trine shot 54.9% (39-for-71) and 45.5% (15-for-33) from three, the second-best shooting game in each category this season to upend their Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) foe.
The Thunder (12-7, 5-3 MIAA) forced 30 Comet (5-13, 2-5 MIAA) turnovers, the most in a game this season for a Trine opponent, and held Olivet to 35.0% (14-for-40) shooting. The Thunder had 22 fewer loose balls and brought in 10 offensive rebounds on their way to putting up 31 more attempts than their opposition.
"I'm excited about where we're going," said head coach Brooks Miller. "This is another step in our journey of getting to where we need to be and I think we took a positive step here. Our enthusiasm, energy and joy for playing together is at an all-time high."
A steal by Connor Jones [Danville, Ind. / Danville] led to a three on the other end of the floor by Bryce Williams [Archbold, Ohio / Archbold], the first of his seven makes from beyond the arc in the half. Trine scored the first eight points in the game following a three by Connor Jones and a made jump shot by Emmanuel Megnanglo [Cotonou, Benin / Amelia Academy].
By attacking the middle of the floor, the Thunder were able to hit jumper after jumper from mid-range against the 2-3 zone of Olivet to stretch the advantage. Nick Bowman [Angola, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern] connected from long range to give him nine of the team's 30 points with 8:11 left in the first half and the score at 30-14.
A post-to-post find from Mitchell Geller [Huntington, Ind. / Huntington North] to Megnanglo resulted in a dazzling dunk to go up 18 points, 34-16. Megnanglo would get another dunk off an offensive rebound in the midst of an 8-0 run that put Trine up 42-21 with just under four minutes to go in the first.
Coming out of a Thunder timeout with three minutes remaining, Williams would go on a three-point shooting tear. Four consecutive possessions resulted in makes from deep by the senior guard, and with an opportunity at a fifth straight make, he saw the defense running at him and dished it off to Bowman in the corner for another three-point field goal. Bowman polished off the period with a made jump shot before the buzzer sounded to go up 59-28.
"It was all really a blur," Williams explained afterwards. "My teammates kept giving me the ball. I remember coming down the floor they would tell me to beat them (into position). They give me so much confidence."
In the first half alone, Trine assisted on 19 of the team's 23 made shot attempts, with Aiden Warzecha [Milford, Mich. / Milford] leading the way with seven. The home squad outscored the Comets 19-0 in points off of turnovers and the Thunder only had two miscues in the first compared to 13 by Olivet.
Williams would knock down his career-high eighth three-point shot of the day at the 16:33 mark to net 24 points, a new high value for the senior. Hayden Jones [Kendallville, Ind. / East Noble] turned defense into offense a few minutes later with a dunk following a steal from Geller to go up 72-32.
Geller scored six in a row, including a dunk off a steal by Bowman to make it 81-45 with eight minutes remaining in the game. Nate Carbaugh [Fort Wayne, Ind. / North Side] scored four straight following that to continue the onslaught by Thunder bigs in the second stanza.
Griffin Lorimer [ Spring Lake, Mich. / Spring Lake] and Aidan Smylie [Franklin, Tenn. / Franklin] used hustle plays to their advantage to score late in the game and it was Connor Jones finding Rilye Cox [Plymouth, Ind. / La Ville] on the right wing for three that gave Trine 100 points exactly and their record-tying 29th assist.
Along with Williams scoring 24 points, Bowman (16), Geller (12) and Connor Jones (11) all finished in double figures. Megnanglo pulled down 10 rebounds, including seven on the offensive end. Warzecha finished with eight assists and Connor Jones chipped in a career-high six. 10 different student-athletes picked up a steal. As a team, the Thunder won points off of turnovers 46-3, second chance points 15-3, points in the paint 40-14 and fastbreak points 18-0.
Next on the schedule for Trine men's basketball is a road game at Albion College on Wednesday, February 2 at 7:30 pm.