ANGOLA, Ind. – The #3 Trine University men's basketball team kept rolling through the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) slate with an 88-76 victory at home versus Alma College on Saturday. The Thunder are now 20-1 overall and 10-0 inside the conference while the Scots fall below .500 at 10-11 and 4-6 in league action.
All five starters were in double figures for Trine, led by Cortez Garland with 23 points. The team shot 54.8% (34-for-62) in total and held Alma to 39.7% (25-for-63). Fast break points were key against the press and the Thunder held a 14-4 edge in that category and dominated the painted area, 56-32. Emmanuel Megnanglo notched a double-double with 17 points and 12 rebounds.
The defense had 15 steals on the afternoon, paced by Cortez Garland and Drew Moore with four each. Garland had this to say of his teammate postgame, "He made effective plays. He was in the right spots, made sure we were rotating and got steals. He was still impactful whether he scored or not and that's one of the things we pride ourselves on as a team."
Right off the tip, Trine scored the first seven points thanks to a three by Fred Garland and two dunks by Megnanglo. Aidan Smylie would add a dunk a few moments later to increase the team's lead, and he would be credited with another slam with 11:16 to play in the first to balloon the advantage to 23-12 and force the Scots to use a timeout.
Brent Cox extended the lead for the Thunder to 31-16 with just over seven minutes left in the first half and his work on the offensive glass helped spark an 8-0 run to go up 21 at 39-18 after two minutes of game time. At the half, the lead was 51-30. Thanks to the press, Trine was able to run the score up inside and shot 65.6% (21-for-32) in the period.
Smylie got the Thunder off on the right foot to begin the second half, but slow and steadily, the Scots would creep their way back into the game thanks to excellent passing, three-point makes and free throws with the clock stopped. Alma got the Trine lead down to 15 at 66-51 with 12 minutes to play.
Cortez Garland would settle the team and knock down a three-point try to get back up 18, but the Scots would match with makes from deep of their own as the deficit was cut down to 11 at 79-68 with five minutes to go. The lead was in the single digits for the first time since early in the game, but the Thunder would close the deal with a 7-0 run in the blink of an eye.
Cox converted a layup inside and an and-one on a dunk by Megnanglo generated a technical foul call on Alma to allow Trine to maintain a firm grip on the lead, 88-72. A few late points by the Scots were not enough to overcome the late surge by the Thunder, 88-76 at the final buzzer.
The homestand continues for Trine on Wednesday, February 7 for a battle between the Thunder and the Albion College Britons. Tip-off is at 7:30 p.m.