HOLLAND, Mich. – The Trine University men's basketball team dropped a road contest at Hope College 61-48 on Monday night. The Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) game was a makeup from a previous postponement on Wednesday, January 5.
The Thunder (8-5, 1-1 MIAA) were held to a season-low in points (48), shooting percentage (33.3%) and three-point percentage (8.3%). The Flying Dutch (9-4, 2-0 MIAA), who were missing three key pieces, take sole possession of the conference lead with their second win in league play.
Trine dug themselves an early hole, down 12-4 through six minutes of play. The Thunder would not be deterred however, as a timeout turned the tide of the half.
Six made free throws contributed to an 8-0 run for the visitors spanning from the 14-minute mark down to 10 minutes remaining in the first. Brent Cox [Kendallville, Ind. / East Noble], Hayden Jones [Kendallville, Ind. / East Noble] and Emmanuel Megnanglo [Cotonou, Benin / Amelia Academy] all cashed in from the charity stripe.
An uncharacteristic string of four straight turnovers doomed Trine as Hope reclaimed the advantage 19-12 at 7:06 with seven consecutive points.
An and-one by Bryce Williams [Archbold, Ohio / Archbold] swung momentum once again and sparked 11 in a row down the stretch. The Thunder defense was helpful in getting the offense flowing in transition. Trine had eight points off of Hope turnovers in the opening stanza.
Aiden Warzecha [Milford, Mich. / Milford] was able to find Brent Cox on a back cut and Bowman rocked the rim on a fastbreak dunk en route to a 23-21 first half. Defensively, the Flying Dutch were kept off the board for six and a half of the final seven minutes.
After a scoreless first half, it was the Mitchell Geller [Huntington, Ind. / Huntington North] show in the second. The 6'7 senior forward scored eight points in the first eight minutes of the period to give Trine their largest lead of the game at 36-29.
At the 11:33 mark, Hope began a 19-3 run that would look like an avalanche as the game wore on. A corner three right in front of the Flying Dutch student section sent DeVos Fieldhouse into a frenzy as the home team forced the Thunder into a timeout down 50-41 with seven minutes remaining.
Geller and Hayden Jones scored two points apiece on the first two possessions after the stoppage, but Trine was never able to get it down to a one possession game after that. Momentum from Hope crashing the offensive glass and getting a few extra looks at the rim doomed the Thunder in their comeback effort.
Bowman recorded his first career double-double with 11 points and a career-high 10 rebounds in the loss. Geller scored 10 second half points in total off the Trine bench.
It is another quick turnaround for the Thunder as they hit the road once again on Wednesday, January 12 for an MIAA game at Olivet College. Tip-off is slated for 8 pm.