ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's basketball team won their first NCAA Tournament game in program history on Friday night with a 91-81 victory over Fontbonne University, the tournament champions of the St. Louis Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SLIAC). The Thunder were able to get out and run for 32 points on 20 Griffin turnovers throughout the game and a 27-15 difference in fast break points.
#13 Trine heads to the Second Round where they take on #25 Coe College on Saturday, March 2 at 8:10 p.m. with a 24-4 overall record. Fontbonne's season comes to an end at 20-8.
"I thought our guys really stayed the course of what we were emphasizing all week of getting longer and more effective possessions that allowed our offense to fuel our defense," Head Coach Brooks Miller said postgame.
Three-point plays by Drew Moore and Aidan Smylie allowed the Thunder to get in front early by a mark of 8-1, but just as quickly the Griffins turned the tables. A 14-4 run for Fontbonne made it 15-12 at the under-12 media timeout.
Logan McKenzie sparked a little 6-0 run to reclaim the lead, but the two teams would battle basket-for-basket down the stretch in the first half. Fred Garland scored five points as the half came to a close to give Trine a 32-29 advantage at the break.
Garland would start the second half just as he finished with a steal and a dunk on the other end. Cortez Garland and Emmanuel Megnanglo would get going offensively as well as Nate Tucker to balloon the lead to 49-40 with under 15 minutes to go.
The Griffins got back to even at 57-57 with eight minutes and change remaining on the clock, but a red hot second half continued throughout the middle stages of the period to keep Trine ahead. In total, the Thunder were 19-of-28 (67.9%) from the field in the half.
A steal by Smylie gave Cortez Garland the opportunity to score a layup in transition to go up 75-66, however a deep three by the Griffins kept them alive for the time being. The Thunder lead would shrink to 75-71, but seven consecutive points for Trine gave the team their largest gap of the night at 82-71. Fred Garland found Megnanglo inside for a slam to help punctuate a 91-81 victory.
"You really have to credit guys like Smylie with steals and E (Megnanglo) with blocks really lead our transition offense," Fred Garland mentioned. Smylie had this to say about the late game execution, "You can just never give up on the play - late in the game when I got that steal I was gassed, but ultimately I trusted myself and my teammates to make a play behind me if I didn't get the steal in that situation."
The Thunder shot 32-of-59 (54.2%) in the game with 59 second half points. Fred Garland paced the team with 23 points and five assists. Cortez Garland had 21 points in total and led the team in +/- at +21 in his time on the floor. Smylie contributed all around with 19 points, a team-high seven rebounds and six steals.