ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's basketball team kicked off the 2023 St. Andrews Products Classic on Friday afternoon with an 88-76 victory over the visiting Berry College. The win puts the 19th-ranked Thunder at 9-1 overall, while the Vikings of Berry fall to 3-7 on the year.
Berry got off to a hot start with makes on their first three field goal attempts, but Trine was able to counter with a make from deep by Cortez Garland and three points from Fred Garland. Logan McKenzie gave the home squad the lead at 8-7 with a layup a few minutes later. A long dry spell would allow the Vikings to retake the lead at 12-8 eight minutes into the period.
A Drew Moore make from beyond the arc sparked a 7-0 run for the Thunder. Aidan Smylie and Jayce Cusack added their names to the scoring total in the middle stages of the first half as Trine maintained a steady gap of 3-6 points over their opponents. The Thunder would pick up the pace and go on an 8-1 run in a little over a minute to make the score 32-24 with 4:32 to go in the first half and force Berry into using a timeout.
The Vikings would cut into the Trine lead once more and get it all the way down to two, but five late points by Cortez Garland made the halftime score 37-33. The elder Garland was 5-for-9 in the first half with a team-high 12 points.
A high-octane offense in the second half propelled the Thunder to victory with 51 points scored. Trine shot 20-of-33 (60.6%) in the period alone and 35-for-61 (57.4%) in the game as a whole.
Brent Cox opened up the second half scoring with a make to further extend the lead while back-to-back three's by Moore and Smylie made it a 14-point advantage at 49-35 four minutes in. By crashing the offensive glass, Smylie ballooned the lead to 55-38 with 14 minutes remaining.
The Vikings clawed back into the game and got to within five at 64-59 with just over eight minutes left in the game. Fred Garland found McKenzie inside for a layup that would stop the run by the visitors. Garland continued to add to his assist numbers by finding Cortez Garland for a make with less than five minutes to go. Head Coach Brooks Miller used a timeout up 73-65 and it was effective in putting the game to bed.
Six consecutive points out of the break helped put the game out of reach with a 79-65 lead with three minutes and change to play. Late game scores by Cox, including a pair of dunks, secured the 88-76 final score.
The Thunder had five scorers in double figures, led by Cortez Garland at 22 points. The other four in the starting lineup finished with 15 points (Cox), 14 points (Fred Garland), 13 points (Smylie) and 12 points (Moore). Smylie led the team with nine rebounds and four steals while Fred Garland totaled eight assists.
After the University of Wisconsin-Platteville defeated Calvin University in game two of the St. Andrews Products Classic, the victorious Pioneers will try their luck in facing Trine immediately following the contest between Berry and Calvin at 1 p.m. Tip-off for the Trine-Platteville game is tentatively scheduled for 3 p.m. on Saturday, December 30.
