ANDERSON, Ind. – The Trine University men's basketball team won their eighth consecutive game to start the 2023-24 season with a 79-76 come-from-behind victory at Anderson University on Monday afternoon. The Thunder scored 52 points in the second half to remain unbeaten at 8-0 while the Ravens of Anderson fall to 7-3.
Aidan Smylie and Logan McKenzie opened the game with five points apiece for Trine to claim an early advantage. The Thunder led 10-7 before Anderson went on a 6-0 run to take their first lead of the contest.
Utilizing a pair of timeouts early, Trine was able to battle back to a tie game at 21 all thanks to a free throw by Drew Moore with just over six minutes remaining in the first half. Brent Cox, Fred Garland and Cortez Garland all scored during the 11-8 scoring difference from 11:19 left to 6:02.
The Ravens were able to conclude the period strong and took a nine-point lead into the locker room. Anderson would go on a 15-6 run over the final six minutes to make the score 36-27 in favor of the home team.
The Thunder would trail by as many as 16 at 45-29 with 18:30 to go before Head Coach Brooks Miller used another timeout. After trading scores on the next four possessions, Smylie knocked down a three-point field goal that would spark a massive 20-3 run that gave the 19th-ranked team in NCAA DIII the lead once again.
Trine was red hot with seven straight possessions that resulted in points. A Smylie steal resulted in an and-one by Cortez Garland followed by baskets from Fred Garland and Moore before McKenzie had an and-one of his own. Cox added a made jump shot to the tally and Cortez Garland completed the comeback with a make from beyond the arc and a jumper inside. That made the score 54-53 with over 13 minutes left.
The defense for both teams were able to settle in through the middle portion of the half, but the Thunder continued to add on slightly. A dunk by Moore and consecutive makes by the Cortez brothers extended the Trine lead to 65-60 with less than eight minutes on the clock.
The Ravens did not go away easily, and a foul on a three-point attempt tied the game back up at 71 in the final two minutes. Anderson retook the lead with 1:13 to play, but Smylie was able to bury a three to seize the advantage right back at 74-73 with 57 ticks left. After getting a stop defensively, Fred Garland made it a three-point game at 76-73 with a made jump shot, leaving 13 seconds for the Ravens to potentially tie the game from distance.
A foul put Anderson at the free throw line with 10 seconds remaining and they were able to convert both attempts to get to within one. Cortez Garland answered with two of his own in crunch time to make it a three-point game once again and playing the foul game, the Thunder put the Ravens back on the charity stripe instead of allowing a potential game-tying shot to go up. Smylie would add a free throw with one second on the clock to ice the 79-76 victory.
Smylie had his first career double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds as well as adding a team-high five steals. Cortez Garland led five players in double figures with 18 points. Cox (16 points), Garland (13 points), Smylie (12 points) and McKenzie (12 points) joined him. For McKenzie, it was a career-high in scoring. Trine was outrebounded 48-33, but took advantage of 23 Anderson turnovers for 24 points on the other end of the floor.
The road trip continues on Wednesday, December 20 at Elmhurst College, who was ranked 15th in last week's D3hoops.com Top 25. That games tips off at 6 p.m.
