CINCINNATI, Ohio – The Trine University men's basketball team kicked-off the Lauren Hill Classic at Mount St. Joseph University on Saturday night with an 85-63 victory over Hanover College in a neutral site game. The Thunder shot a very impressive 54.5% (36-for-66) as a team and the starting five had a combined field goal percentage of 67.4% (31-for-46) en route to a 1-0 record.
Senior Emmanuel Megnanglo got the season started with a massive dunk coming off an offensive rebound for the first points of the 2023-24 campaign. That would spark a 13-3 run fueled by the offense of newcomers senior Cortez Garland and junior Fred Garland. The brother duo combined for all 11 points after the Megnanglo dunk.
The Hanover Panthers (1-1) would creep their way back into the contest and get the score down to 15-14 with less than 12 minutes to play in the first half before junior Drew Moore scored his first points as a member of the Trine Thunder to extend the lead. Back-to-back makes by junior Aidan Smylie and sophomore Nate Tucker brought the lead to double figures at 27-16 with eight minutes and change remaining, but a more than three-minute dry spell on offense allowed Hanover to tie the game up at 27.
Despite tying the contest up multiple times late in the first half, the Panthers were never able to take the lead themselves as the Thunder pushed to take a lead into halftime. A basket by Fred Garland just before the end of the period made it 39-35 at the half.
A three-point make by Smylie coming out of halftime fueled the offense that was able to put up 46 points in the second stanza. Cortez Garland and junior Grant Pahl carried the load for the squad as they pushed the advantage back to double digits at 52-38 with 13:30 left. The Thunder defense also stepped up during this stretch by holding Hanover scoreless over a four-minute stretch.
A pair of rim-rattling dunks by Megnanglo began the process of burying the Panthers for the night as Trine extended the lead all the way to 21 at 64-43 at the halfway point in the second half. Senior Brent Cox was able to get in on the action with a made layup off a feed by sophomore Hayden Jones and sophomore Evan Lumbrezer knocked down a pair of free throws in the final few minutes of action to help secure the 85-63 victory.
Cortez Garland led all scorers with 20 points on the evening, including his final basket that resulted in his 1,000th career point scored. Fred Garland contributed with 16 points on a perfect 8-for-8 from the field as well as six rebounds. The leading rebounder for the Thunder was Megnanglo with eight in total and he added five blocks.
The defense of the group of starters held the opposing starting lineup to just 12 points and eight turnovers. Hanover was restricted to 36.5% (23-for-63) from the floor and 18 turnovers were forced by Trine in the game.
On Sunday afternoon, the host school of the showcase Mount St. Joseph will try their hand in dealing with the visiting Thunder beginning at 3 p.m.