ANDERSON, Ind. – The Trine University men's basketball team suffered their third consecutive defeat and have now lost four of their last five games after a 65-57 setback at Anderson University on Saturday afternoon.
The Thunder (5-4) were held to a season-low 33.9% (20-for-59) from the field by the Ravens (7-2) in the contest.
Trine missed their first seven shots from the field, but were able to get to the free throw line for a few makes in the first five minutes. Emmanuel Megnanglo [Cotonou, Benin / Amelia Academy] rose up for dunks on back-to-back possessions to force an Anderson timeout at 7-6 Ravens with 14 minutes to go in the period. Megnanglo recorded a block on the first possession out of the break.
Aiden Warzecha [Milford, Mich. / Milford] came up with a steal that resulted in a Nick Bowman [Angola, Ind. / Hamilton Southeastern] dunk to tie the game up at nine. Brent Cox [Kendallville, Ind. / East Noble] hit a lay-up and the team's first shot from long range to give Trine their first lead at 14-11 halfway through the first.
Five straight points by Mitchell Geller [Huntington, Ind. / Huntington North] and Bryce Williams [Archbold, Ohio / Archbold] gave the Thunder their largest lead of the game at 19-14, but the Ravens went on a 15-4 run over the final eight minutes to make it 29-23 Anderson at the half. 17 points off of turnovers helped keep Trine afloat in the opening period. They would outscore their opponents 29-10 following a miscue in the game.
Williams and Bowman knocked down consecutive three's coming out of the locker room to tie the game up immediately. Post-to-post play from Cox to Geller polished off an 8-0 run.
With an extra offensive possession coming on an offensive rebound, Megnanglo went above the rim once again for a dunk to make it 35-35 after six minutes of play in the second. Trine reclaimed the lead at 38-37 off the fingertips of Bowman with under 12 minutes to play.
Anderson went on an 8-0 scoring spurt of their own to take a commanding 45-38 advantage. As the game wore on, each make by the Thunder were answered on the other end by a basket from a Ravens player. Trine got it to within two, but were never able to get a chance to tie or take the lead in the home stretch.
Two Bowman lay-ups with less than three minutes to go made it 57-54, but Anderson was able to respond once again with an and-one at the two-minute mark. A tip-in lay-up and late free throws iced the game for the Ravens after holding the Thunder scoreless over the final 82 seconds.
Bowman was the scoring leader for Trine with 22 points on 7-of-14 shooting and 7-of-8 free throw attempts. Geller (11 points) and Williams (10 points) were each in double figures. It is Geller's fourth straight game scoring 10 or more, the longest such streak of his career. Megnaglo scored all six bench points and swatted away four shots, a team-high.
It is a quick turnaround for the Thunder men, as they take on the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point on Monday, December 20 at MTI Center. Tip-off is slated for 3 pm.
