ADRIAN, MICH. -- For the fourth consecutive game, sophomore Maurice Hunter (Monroe, Mich./Monroe) posted a double-double, but this time it would come in a 70-67 loss against Adrian (Mich.) College in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association game in Adrian, Mich.
Hunter scored 15 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to complete the double-double. It marks his sixth overall double-double of the season. Junior Pete Smith (Bristol, Ind./Northridge) led the Thunder in scoring with a game-high 24 points on nine-of-15 shooting (60.0 percent) with six of his nine made shots coming from three-point range. Smith also led the team in assists with a game-tying high six helpers.
Senior Myles Copeland (Perrysburg, Ohio/Toledo St. John's) was second in scoring with 22 points to go along with seven boards.
Sophomore Langston Johnson (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central) matched Smith in the assist column with six total.
Adrian (16-5, 7-3 MIAA) scored the first points of the game on a pair of free-throws that was followed by a 13-2 scoring run by Trine (9-12, 5-5 MIAA) and put the Thunder ahead by nine points, 13-4, at the 16:01 mark. The Bulldogs then responded with an ensuing 16-2 run to regain control and led by five points, 20-15, with just over 11 minutes to go in the first half.
The two teams traded leads two more times before the end of the half with Trine having a two-point advantage, 26-24, with 6:44 to go after one-of-two free-throws by Copeland that ended a streak of five straight points for the Thunder. Adrian came right back on the scoreboard and led for the final 4:55 of the period that included a 36-33 margin at halftime.
Adrian came out of the locker rooms and began the second half with a three-pointer to go up by six points, 39-33. Trine began to chip away at the deficit and swung momentum back in its favor by taking a six-point advantage, 47-41, as part of a 9-0 run that ended in a triple by Smith with 15:25 to go in the game.
The Bulldogs answered with nine unanswered points of their own as part of a larger 19-4 overall run to go up by nine points, 60-51, with 8:51 remaining. The teeter-totter pace between the two squads continued as Trine rallied and crept to within a point, 64-63, at the 5:13 mark on its way to taking a one-point advantage with 2:33 to go after four straight free-throws by Copeland.
Turnovers and missed shots plagued Trine the rest of the way which allowed Adrian to take the lead for good with a little over a minute to go. The Bulldogs then went up by three points after a layup with 15 seconds on the clock, setting up a final opportunity for Trine at tying the game. But the three-point attempt with just seconds remaining missed its mark, sealing the victory for Adrian with a final score of 70-67.
Adrian was led in scoring by Justin Webster who had 22 points to go along with 10 rebounds.
Trine returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 7 when it hosts Calvin (Mich.) College at the MTI Center. The game is slated to begin at 7:30 p.m.