KALAMAZOO, MICH.  --  The Trine University men's basketball team began Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association play with a 77-49 win against Kalamazoo (Mich.) College at Anderson Athletic Center in Kalamazoo, Mich.

Also highlighting the victory was the milestone reached by Head Coach Brooks Miller who claimed his 150th career victory.  Now in his 10th season, Miller ranks third on the all-time coaching wins list and improves to 150-98.  He is the winningest coach in program history in the NCAA era which began in 2004.

Trine was led in scoring by junior Nick Bowman (Angola, Ind./Hamilton Southeastern) with a game-high 17 points on seven-of-13 shooting (53.8 percent).  He also grabbed four rebounds and had a game-high six steals defensively.  Junior Bryce Williams (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold) and sophomore Brent Cox (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) were tied for second with 13 points each.

Sophomore Connor Jones (Danville, Ind./Danville) rounded out the high scorers with with 10 points to go along with four rebounds.  Freshman Emmanuel Mengnanglo (Cotonou, Benin/Amelia Academy) led Trine in rebounding with five boards and also had a pair of blocked shots.

Trine (10-0, 1-0 MIAA) started things off with a 6-0 run and quickly built a double-digit advantage by a 14-2 margin following a three-pointer by Bowman.  Kalamazoo (0-1, 0-1 MIAA) answered with six straight points to make it a six-point game, 14-8, with 13:41 to go in the first half.  

The Thunder never trailed and later regained a double-figure lead thanks to a 5-0 mini run late in the first half as the result of a jumper by Bowman and a triple by Williams to make it a 33-23 game at the 2:05 mark.  Following a three-pointer by KZOO that narrowed the gap to seven points, Williams ended the scoring in the half with a layup which sent the Thunder into the locker rooms leading by nine points, 35-26.

Trine took control of the game in the second half by outscoring Kalamazoo, 42-23, and shot 57.7 percent (15-of-26) overall for the period and 55.6 percent (five-of-nine) from long range.  The layup by Williams that ended the first half was part of an 8-2 run as Trine jumped out to a 13-point lead, 41-28, in the first few minutes of the period.

Leading by nine points at the 15:46 mark, Williams connected on a three-pointer that began a streak of eight unanswered points to take a commanding 17-point lead, 51-34, with 13:15 to go.  The Thunder clipped the 20-point margin for the first time with just under seven-and-a-half minutes to go after a three-pointer by junior Aiden Warzecha (Milford, Mich./Milford).

Kalamazoo wouldn't threaten the Trine lead the remainder of the game as the Thunder went to lead by as many as 28 points thanks to a layup by junior Mitchell Geller (Huntington, Ind./Huntington North) to end the scoring and sent Trine to the 77-49 victory.

Trine is scheduled to host Alma (Mich.) College on Thursday, Feb. 11 at the MTI Center in a MIAA game.  Tip-off is set for 7:30 p.m.