The Trine University men's basketball team won its third straight game with a 72-64 victory against Anderson (Ind.) University in a non-conference game at the MTI Center.
The Thunder had four players score in double figures led by senior Langston Johnson (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central) who scored 21 points on six-of-18 shooting (33.3 percent), including seven-of-10 (70.0 percent) from the free-throw line. He was also second on the team in rebounding with seven boards. Freshman Brent Cox (Kendallville, Ind./East Noble) was second with 15 points and grabbed a game-high 10 rebounds for his first double-double as a collegian.
Senior Marcus Winters (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) and freshman Brandan Johnson (Fort Wayne, Ind./North Side) both scored 10 points to round out the high scorers. Winters added six rebounds to go along with his 10 points and Brandan Johnson tallied a team and game-tying high three assists.
Trine (4-2) held Anderson (2-4) to just four points in the first 6:11 of the first half which allowed the Thunder to build a seven-point advantage, 11-4, following a pair of free-throws by Cox at the 13:49 mark. After a successful jumper by the Ravens to the scoring drought, Trine scored the next eight points which was capped by a bucket by Brandan Johnson with just over 12 minutes to go in the first half that made it a 19-6 contest.
The Thunder went on to lead by as many as 14 points in the period before Anderson began to rally with a 10-0 scoring run that cut the deficit to four points, 22-18, with six-and-a-half minutes remaining. The Ravens eventually evened the score at 24-24 with under five minutes to go and recorded their first lead of the game since scoring the opening points of the half, at the 1:23 mark on a three-pointer. Anderson went on to lead by as many as four points in the final minute, but Trine was able to work back to within a point thanks to two free-throws by Winters to end the scoring and send the Thunder into the locker rooms trailing, 35-34.
Both teams played at a back-and-forth pace in the second half as the period featured nine lead changes and seven ties. At the 9:16 mark with Anderson leading by a point, 54-53, Trine took the lead as the result of a three-pointer by Cox and ignited a 13-1 run that enabled the Thunder to begin to pull away with an 11-point advantage with 5:17 to play in regulation.
Anderson got back to within six points down the stretch, but got no closer as a layup by Trine sophomore Aiden Warzecha (Milford, Mich./Milford) were the final points of the game to seal the 72-64 win for the home squad.
Trine will be idle until it hosts the annual St. Andrews Products Classic on Saturday-Sunday, Dec. 14-15 at the MTI Center. The Thunder will take on Hiram (Ohio) College in its first game of the two-day event on Saturday with tip-off scheduled for 3 p.m.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, please contact Trine University Sports Information Director Jeff Hoedt by phone at (260) 665-4122 or by email at hoedtj@trine.edu.
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