ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine University men's basketball team dominated their matchup with the Albion College Britons on Wednesday night 91-49. The second-ranked Thunder never surrendered the lead in the blowout win to get to 21-1 overall and 11-0 inside the Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA). Albion is 9-13 and 3-8 inside the conference.
"This team continues to get better, and the maturity of this team is so nice," Head Coach Brooks Miller stated. "As a coach sometimes when you have a bad day of practice leading into a game, you freak out a little, but then you go out and you play well. We've been locked in at practice and you think you've wasted your good stuff but it's been enjoyable to watch these guys grow."
Trine was able to get out in transition by forcing 27 turnovers and recording 22 steals. 22 steals are the third-highest total in program history and Aidan Smylie led the team with seven steals to tie the single-game individual record. Smylie also added 13 points and six assists to his line.
Every team statistic was won by Trine, highlighted by a 30-12 difference in points off turnovers, a 44-20 advantage in the paint and the Thunder shooting 49.2% (32-for-65) and the Britons 32.7% (17-for-52).
Brent Cox led the team in points with 18 with five players in double figures. Cortez Garland (14), Smylie (13), Emmanuel Megnanglo (12) and Drew Moore (10) also made their marks offensively. Megnanglo brought down seven rebounds while Jayce Cusack and Logan McKenzie came off the bench for six and five rebounds, respectively.
Cox netted the team's first six points of the game, but Albion would bring the score to within one at 8-7 four minutes into the first half. A 12-0 scoring run with a pair of dunks by Smylie and Megnanglo gave the momentum entirely to the home team.
Three-point shooting by the Britons near the halfway point in the period made it a five-point game at 22-17, but a 20-1 scoring run this time put the contest out of reach. Albion was held without a field goal from 9:24 left in the half to 2:03 remaining, but at that point, the score read 40-20 Thunder. A bucket by Smylie just before the end of the first half made it 45-20 at the break.
Cortez Garland and Smylie combined for three makes from beyond the arc at the beginning of the second half as the lead continued to grow, 54-26. Moore found Cox inside for a monster dunk to continue the party for the Angola natives. Fred Garland would connect from three as well towards the midpoint of the period as well to punctuate his day.
Late in the half, Cusack, McKenzie, Grant Pahl and Cameron Awls scored baskets to solidify the team's 91-49 victory. "We can't take anyone lightly," Awls mentioned postgame. "Every game is a championship game for us."
The final road game of the regular season takes place on Saturday, February 10 at The University of Olivet. Tip-off is set for 3 p.m.
