ANGOLA, IND. -- The Trine University men's basketball team fell on the losing end of an 86-69 contest in a game that saw a combined 45 fouls and 43 free-throws in a non-conference matchup at Hershey Hall.
The Thunder had a relatively cool shooting night as the team shot 39.6 percent (21-of-53) for the game, compared to Heidelberg's 55.6 percent (35-of-63) shooting. Trine would get to the free-throw line 32 times in the game and converted 21 of its attempts (65.6 percent). The Student Princes also remained hot from behind the arc as they shot 52.6 percent (10-of-19) to Trine's 31.6 percent (six-of-19).
Individually for Trine, freshman Jalen Paul (Fort Wayne, Ind./Churubusco) scored a season-high 17 points on five-of-nine shooting (55.6 percent), with three of his makes coming from three-point range. Junior Myles Copeland (Perrysburg, Ohio/Toledo St. John's) also scored in double figures with 11 points, with seven of his points coming at the charity stripe, and grabbed a team-high six rebounds. Sophomore Langston Johnson (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points.
Trine (1-4) opened the game with one of Paul's three triples on the night to grab the early lead. Heidelberg (2-2) then scored four straight points to take a slim advantage, but a fastbreak layup by Johnson off of a steal, put the Thunder back ahead, 5-4, at the 14:08 mark of the first half. The Student Princes took the lead for good following the Johnson basket with an 8-0 scoring run to go up by seven points, 12-5, with 13:06 remaining in the half.
The Thunder rallied several times to get to within a point, despite trailing by as many as eight points in the period, with the last one being a 37-36 margin with two minutes to go following a jumper by Paul. Heidelberg outscored Trine, 6-2, in the final minutes to lead by five points at the break, 43-38.
Coming out of the locker rooms, the visitors quickly extended their lead out to seven points, but the Thunder would fight back again to within a point two more times, including a 53-52 deficit with 13:40 left in the game after a jumper by Copeland. But that would be as close as Trine got the rest of the way as a an ensuing 9-2 Heidelberg run equaled the Student Princes' largest lead up to that point of eight points, 62-54, with 11:16 to play.
Trine trailed by three points with about nine minutes to go when Heidelberg put the game away with a 22-1 run that included five made triples, to take a commanding 24-point lead, 86-62, at the 3:15 mark.
Both teams then began to empty their benches as Heidelberg secured the victory en route to a final score of, 86-69.
Trine continues its homestand on Monday, Dec. 4 when it hosts Great Lakes Christian College at Hershey Hall. The game is slated to begin at 7 p.m.
