ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's basketball team was dominant on Wednesday night over Kalamazoo College 72-45. The Thunder move to 21-3 overall and are 11-2 in Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play while the Hornets stumble to 5-19 and 3-10 in the league.
Trine shot 48.3% (28-for-58) for the game and forced 24 Kalamazoo turnovers. The Hornets were held to 35.0% (14-for-40) overall. The Thunder maintained a stout 37-22 advantage on the glass in the victory.
"Tonight was an opportunity to redefine who we are," head coach Brooks Miller mentioned postgame. "We shared the ball really well, got inside-out step-in rhythm shots [from three]. That's what we have to do."
Trine began the night by going on a 10-2 run within the first five minutes of play. Scoring was divided among five different players: Aidan Smylie, Connor Jones, Brent Cox, Nate Carbaugh and Logan McKenzie. Three makes from downtown pulled Kalamazoo back to within one at 12-11, and that forced head coach Brooks Miller to use a timeout. Grant Pahl found Ryan Preston for three on the team's first offensive possession out of the break to regain momentum.
A 13-0 scoring run for the home team helped the Thunder to extend their lead to double figures. McKenzie found Emmanuel Megnanglo inside for a massive two-hand flush that highlighted the first half. All told, Trine took a 36-20 lead into the halftime break.
Ryan Preston netted the first points of the second half thanks to a steal by Jones, one of three steals and five assists the senior guard had on the night. Carbaugh crashed the glass for five offensive rebounds in the game, one an offensive board with just under 13 minutes remaining put him at the free throw line to put the lead over 20 at 47-26.
Logan Gard, Nate Tucker and Cameron Awls extended the lead to over 30 with a 16-0 run in the middle portion of the second half at 63-29. A few turnovers in the closing minutes allowed Kalamazoo to cut into the deficit slightly, but Colin Shriver was true from beyond the arc in the final minute to help seal the 72-45 triumph.
Cox led all scorers on the night with 14 points and Carbaugh was in double figures as well with 10. Smylie (7), Carbaugh (6) and McKenzie (5) all made their presence known on the glass and Jones distributed a team-high five assists. As a team, 20 assists were credited to 28 made field goals, a season-high for the program.
McKenzie had this to say about the day for the team: "I knew we had a great game plan going in. We needed to work hard on defense and stay in gaps. My coaches are telling me that I can score on offense so that was my goal, to try to be aggressive when I get the ball."
Senior day will take place on Saturday, February 18 against the Adrian College Bulldogs beginning at 3 p.m. With a loss by Calvin University to Hope College, the Thunder will need a win and a Calvin loss to Albion College to clinch a share of the MIAA regular season championship.