KALAMAZOO, Mich. – The Trine University men's basketball team was able to defeat Kalamazoo College on the road on Wednesday to get back in the win column 94-56. The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) victory puts the Thunder at 16-8 overall and 9-4 in conference play. The Hornets fall to 5-18 and 2-10 in league play.
Senior guard Bryce Williams [Archbold, Ohio / Archbold] went on a shooting tear with 33 points on 11 made shots from three-point range. That ties the school record set by Pete Smith in the 2017-18 season. Williams knocked down eight field goals from distance in the first half and was able to sink three more in a 53-point second half by Trine.
"It was a great moment for my teammates and I," Williams reflected postgame. "I'm proud to share the record with one of my favorite teammates in Pete Smith. They set me up, and all I had to do was knock them down. That was a great team win after a heartbreaking loss and I'm proud of how we responded. I look forward to getting back at it in practice tomorrow to prepare for Adrian."
A 7-0 run spanning just 60 seconds gave Trine a 7-3 lead in the opening minutes of play. Brent Cox [Kendallville, Ind. / East Noble] provided an early spark in the starting rotation with a made jump shot, then Williams made his first three-point field goal and Nick Bowman [Angola, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern] finished off the run with a lay-up.
Williams buried two more to bring the total to three makes in the first five minutes of play. A fourth make from distance with nine minutes left in the first allowed the Thunder to take a double-digit lead at 21-9. Three of the next four possessions ended with the same result to bring the tally to eight and blow the game open at 33-16.
Aiden Warzecha [Milford, Mich. / Milford] showed his defensive prowess all night long and that helped to set up shots in transition. He had steals on back-to-back possessions with three minutes remaining in the period, one of which led to an easy basket on the other end for the senior. In total, Warzecha had eight assists, five rebounds and five steals to lead the team in all three categories.
After hitting the locker room with a 41-21 halftime lead, Warzecha found Williams beyond the arc once again on the opening possession in the second half for his ninth made three-point field goal. Mitchell Geller [Huntington, Ind. / Huntington North] scored following a Hornet turnover to score the first five points of the period.
The three's weren't just falling for Williams, as Brent Cox hit a pair as the second half wore on. Trine took a 55-38 lead on his second make six minutes in. Connor Jones [Danville, Ind. / Danville] found Warzecha a few possessions later to add his name to the charge for long distance calls. Bowman did the same midway through the second half.
With a tick over five minutes to go, Williams was re-entered into the contest and buried two more to tie the school record and give the Thunder a commanding 83-54 advantage. Nate Carbaugh [Fort Wayne, Ind. / North Side], Griffin Lorimer [Spring Lake, Mich. / Spring Lake], Grant Pahl [Sylvania, Ohio / Southview] and Aidan Smylie [Franklin, Tenn. / Franklin] helped to seal the 94-56 win.
Williams' 33 points is the most by a single player in a game this season and his 18 attempts from beyond the three-point line is the most in a game all-time. Brent Cox scored a season-high 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting from the field. As a team, the Thunder had 25 assists on 36 made field goals while shooting 52.2% (36-for-69) from the field. The visitors pulled down 14 offensive rebounds and forced 31 turnovers, a season-high in both categories.
The regular season finale for Trine takes place on Saturday, February 19 at Adrian College. A win in that one plus a Calvin University loss to Albion College can secure the Thunder the number two seed heading into the MIAA Tournament via a three-way tie. That game tips-off at 3 pm immediately following the women's game with a 1 pm start.
