BEREA, Ohio – The Trine University men's basketball team conquered the Baldwin Wallace University Yellow Jackets in their first game back from Christmas break by a score of 62-60. The Thunder got a stop in the closing seconds to secure the win and move to 10-1 overall on the season. Baldwin Wallace falls to 5-6 in the 2022-23 season.
On their home floor, the Yellow Jackets were contained to 33.3% (20-of-60) from the field and 29.2% (7-of-24) from deep in the contest. Trine won the battle in the paint by a tally of 38-22. "We did a good job at limiting their quality three-point attempts," Head Coach Brooks Miller mentioned postgame. "I thought that was a key in our success tonight."
After a sluggish start to the game, the Thunder bench got going with baskets by Cameron Awls and Nate Carbaugh. A Connor Jones jumper gave Trine their first lead in the game at 8-7 with 14:12 remaining. Jones widened the lead with a layup a few moments later.
Emmanuel Megnanglo got up for an and-one with just under six minutes left in the first half that sparked a 9-0 scoring run for the visitors. Brent Cox and Aidan Smylie got the lead to 24-14, forcing the Yellow Jackets into a timeout. Nate Tucker put the team up 28-17, their largest lead of the first half, but a 6-0 Baldwin Wallace run brought the game back to single digits. Grant Pahl buried a mid-range jump shot just before the final buzzer to claim a 30-23 halftime advantage.
The Yellow Jackets showed some life in the second and made it a one-possession game at 36-34 over five minutes in. Coming out of a Thunder timeout, Baldwin Wallace reclaimed the lead with a three-point field goal, but a Jones make plus a free throw put the lead back in Trine's hands on the next possession. The same would happen at the 10-minute mark, only this time it was Cox hitting the jump shot to give the Thunder a 43-41 edge.
Offensive rebounding by Trine helped to build a 52-45 lead with 6:28 to play, but the Thunder lead was not out of reach. The Yellow Jackets brought it back to a one-point affair with three minutes and change, but Trine once more had an answer. A three-point play by Cox bolstered the Thunder lead and Carbaugh was true from mid-range to go up 61-57 with two minutes left.
The defense stood tall late and got stops when they needed to thanks in part to a block by Megnanglo. A made free throw by Awls helped get the team to the 62-60 margin.
In total, Cox (18 points) and Jones (15 points) were double-figure scorers. Megnanglo led the team with nine rebounds and five blocked shots, while Pahl distributed six assists.
Up next, Trine takes on Hope College to open Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play on Wednesday, January 4. Tip-off at home is slated for 7:30 p.m.
