ALMA, Mich. – The 16th-ranked Trine University men's basketball team won for the ninth consecutive time on Wednesday when they traveled to Alma College to take on the Scots. The Thunder dominated the second half to pull away to an 80-60 victory and scored 56 of their 80 points inside the paint.
Trine is now 15-1 on the season and remains unbeaten in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play at 5-0. Alma finishes the game with a 4-12 record and are 1-4 in league play.
The Scots would bury a three on the first possession of the game, but it was all Thunder moving forward. Emmanuel Megnanglo flew through the air for a dunk to get Trine on the board, while Brent Cox, Grant Pahl and Aidan Smylie all scored to complete an 11-0 run. A pair of free throws and a made jumper by Ryan Preston gave Trine their largest lead of the first half at 25-8 with just over eight minutes remaining.
Alma overcame more than a few dunks from Megnanglo with makes from beyond the arc to get game back to single digits before the end of the half. A three-point play by Cameron Awls completed a 36-28 first half in favor of the visitors.
The Thunder shot 59.1% (13-of-22) from the field through the first 20 minutes to withstand Alma's relentless attack on the offensive glass. The Scots had eight offensive rebounds to none for Trine. The Thunder took full advantage at the free throw line by knocking down all nine attempts from the charity stripe.
Similar to the story in the first half, Megnanglo rocked the rim with a dunk to open the second. The duo of Cox and Connor Jones thwarted a comeback effort by the Scots by getting to the rim. Nate Carbaugh and Smylie worked their way inside as well to go back up 14 at 52-38 with less than 15 minutes left.
The Trine defense was on display in the middle portion of the second half. They held the home squad scoreless for nearly five minutes and at the eight-minute mark when the Scots got back in the scoring column, the Thunder had gotten ahead 64-45.
The 20-point gap remained for the duration of the contest as the teams traded baskets down the stretch. Logan McKenzie and Logan Gard each had points as the game drew to a close at 80-60.
The Thunder overcame shooting woes from downtown by attacking the rim. In total, Trine shot a season-high 63.0% (34-for-54) from the field, but were just 1-of-10 from three. Cox was 10-of-17 en route to a game-high 23 points. Fellow upperclassmen Jones and Megnanglo were in double figures as well with 14 each. Megnanglo brought in eight rebounds with three blocks and Jones five assists to lead the team in each statistical category.
Trine is back inside the friendly compounds of the MTI Center on Saturday, January 21 for a heavyweight bout with nationally-ranked Calvin University. Tip-off between the Thunder and Knights is slated for 3 p.m.
