ADRIAN, MICH. -- Junior Nick Bowman (Angola, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) continued his impressive offensive play with a 28-point effort to help lead the Trine University men's basketball team to a 59-49 win against Adrian College in Adrian, Mich.
Bowman scored his game-high 28 points on 10-of-18 shooting (55.6 percent) and was also seven-of-eight (87.5 percent) at the free-throw line. Sophomore Brent Cox (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) also scored in double figures to round out the high scorers with 12 points in addition to a game-tying high six rebounds.
Freshman Emmanuel Mengnanglo (Cotonou, Benin/Amelia Academy) tied Cox in rebounding with six boards to go along with eight points.
Trine (7-0) never trailed in the game and scored the first six points of the contest thanks to an opening layup by Cox which was followed by four straight free-throws by Bowman. Adrian (1-8) scored its first points with 16:25 remaining in the first half, but an ensuing layup by Bowman and a three-pointer by Cox extended the Thunder lead to nine points, 11-2, at the 14:44 mark.
The Bulldogs later made it a five-point game, 13-8, with just under 13 minutes left, but Trine responded with a 10-2 scoring run that ended in a jumper by sophomore Connor Jones (Danville, Ind./Danville) and gave the Thunder a 13-point advantage, 23-10. Adrian worked its way back to within single digits of five points late, 30-25, but a Bowman three-pointer ended the scoring in the half and put Trine out in front by eight points, 33-25, at the break.
The lead hovered around the double-digit mark for the majority of the second half. Adrian got no closer than seven points, however, including a 47-40, margin at the 7:21 mark. Then a three-pointer by junior Aiden Warzecha (Milford, Mich./Milford) began a 7-0 Trine run and extended the lead to 14 points, 54-40, with a little over five minutes left.
Trine's largest lead of the game came with 1:15 to play when Warzecha connected on one-of-two free-throws for a 16-point advantage, 57-41. The Bulldogs made a final push in the remaining seconds highlighted by an 8-0 run to narrow the gap back to single figures with 21 seconds to go by a score of 57-49. The scoring ended with a pair of free-throws by Bowman as the Thunder remained unbeaten so far this season thanks to a final score of 59-49.
Trine will look to continue its hot start when it hosts Hope (Mich.) College at the MTI Center on Wednesday, Feb. 3. Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.
