ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's basketball team was victorious for the sixth straight game in a 68-53 non-conference win against Anderson University on Wednesday night. It is the fourth win for the Thunder on their home floor this season.
Trine takes their record to 6-0 this season, while the Ravens of Anderson falter to 2-5 overall.
Head coach Brooks Miller had this to say on the victory, "Our effort when it comes to offensive rebounding is a part of our gameplan. We had 16 offensive rebounds tonight, that only led to 13 second chance points – I thought we played a little off-balance in the paint, but their length will do that to you. We won the turnover battle 17-12 and we held them under 20 [three-point] attempts. That's a huge win for us, especially when we go 7-for-18 [from deep]."
The Thunder opened the game by scoring the first seven points, including a highlight reel dunk by Emmanuel Megnanglo off a feed by Connor Jones. Cameron Awls and Nate Carbaugh came off the bench early for the home squad and contributed to keep Anderson at arm's length. Ultimately, the red-hot shooting start would carry the team throughout the first half.
Jackson Jannsen knocked down a three with 11 minutes remaining in the first half to put Trine up double figures at 20-10. Jannsen would hit four shots from long range in the opening period, including one at the eight-minute mark and the four-minute mark. "Coach has helped me before practice on my shot," the junior transfer Jannsen mentioned postgame. "I was in a little bit of a shooting slump, but getting shots up every morning helps me to get like that during a game!"
Megnanglo would follow up a three-point field goal by Jannsen with a dunk in transition that forced the Ravens into a timeout with under eight minutes left in the first half. An offensive flurry in the final three minutes of the half allowed the Thunder to claim a 40-30 edge heading into the locker room.
Nine of their 16 offensive rebounds came in the first half and had seven steals on nine Anderson miscues.
Trine punched the ball inside against the opposing zone to begin the second half, with Megnanglo, Brent Cox and Carbaugh all scoring early. In fact, the first basket that came outside of those three players for the Thunder came at the 4:43 mark in the second half. After scoring just four points in the first half, Cox turned it on inside and outside in the second, with 13 total points for a team-high 17. Add in Aidan Smylie and the bigs also showed up on the defensive end of the floor with five blocked shots.
A layup by Smylie with just over four minutes left gave Trine their largest lead of the evening at 65-43, and from there, the Thunder coasted to a 68-53 final score.
Cox's 17 points, nine rebounds and four steals to lead the team in all categories. Megnanglo and Jannsen were in tow with 12 points apiece. Jones had a great all-around night with seven points, six rebounds and a team-high six assists.
For the first time this season, Trine will face an opponent in a true road game. It comes on Thursday, December 8 at the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, beginning at 8 p.m. EST.