CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Trine University men's basketball team returns home from the Lauren Hill Classic with two victories after securing a 71-54 win over the host Mount St. Joseph University on Sunday afternoon. The Thunder are now 2-0 while the Lions of MSJ fall to 0-3 this year.
Trine was able to take 19 more shots in the game after forcing 25 Mount St. Joseph turnovers (17 steals). The Thunder were 29-of-57 (50.9%) from the field while the Lions sat at 18-of-38 (47.4%).
MSJ was able to score eight of the first ten points in the game to take an early lead, but Trine would chip away as the first half wore on. An offensive rebound and assist by Emmanuel Megnanglo set up Nate Tucker for a basket to give the Thunder their first lead of the day at 11-10 with just over 12 minutes to go in the period.
To help deal with the size on the Lions side of the court, Logan McKenzie was called upon early in the game and he came through with a pair of baskets around the midway point in the first to keep the game tied at 15. Back-to-back makes from beyond the arc by Cortez Garland and Brent Cox forced Mount St. Joseph to call a timeout down 21-17, but from 6:22 left in the period on, the Thunder were in front.
Cortez Garland gave Trine a five-point edge going into halftime via a made jump shot as the buzzer sounded for the break at 32-27. Fred Garland netted a team-high eight points in the first half fueled by eight steals in total by the Thunder defense. Fred Garland would begin the second half with a pair of makes as well to continue his scoring run.
Megnanglo helped push the lead to double figures at 41-31 five minutes into the second half with a three-point field goal make and a dunk coming off a steal. The Lions would cut the Trine lead down to five multiple times, but it was once again a scoring run by Cortez Garland and Cox that got the lead back up to a comfortable range at 53-41 with ten minutes to play. The duo netted ten consecutive Thunder points with a pair of makes from distance by Garland.
MSJ was held at 47 points for nearly four minutes late in the second half as Drew Moore and Grant Pahl helped propel the lead to 65-47 with four minutes to play. Trine sprinted through the finish line in the game with multiple scores late to get to the 71-54 final score.
Fred Garland was the top scorer for the Thunder with 16 points and he was one of four student-athletes in double figures. Joining him were Cox (13 points), Megnanglo (13 points) and Cortez Garland (11 points). Despite not getting in the scoring column, Aidan Smylie made a huge impact on the contest with eight rebounds, five assists and four steals in the game.
Up next on the schedule for the Thunder is the team's home opener on Thursday, November 16 against the Franklin College Grizzlies. Tip-off at the MTI Center is slated for 7 p.m.