ADRIAN, Mich.-- Trine was unable to overcome a cold shooting effort in a 54-44 loss at Adrian Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs held the Thunder to a season-low 32 percent (15-of-47) shooting clip, including a 2-of-20 (10 percent) performance from three-point range. Rickey Jackson led Adrian with 18 points on 8-of-12 shooting to go along with eight rebounds. The Bulldog bench outscored their Trine counterparts by a 20-0 margin. Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind./Zionsville) led the Thunder with 14 points on 6-of-14 shooting. Trine falls to 8-5 overall, 1-1 in the MIAA. Adrian improved to 4-9 overall and is off to a 2-0 start in conference play.
Ben Syroka (Toledo, Ohio/Whitmer) notched a season-high 12 points and added three assists for the Thunder. Jared Holmquist (Reed City, Mich./Reed City) added nine points and six rebounds.
Jordan Denham led the Bulldog surge off the bench with nine points on 4-of-9 shooting. Ben Rodak scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds. The Bulldogs shot 43 percent from the field (21-of-49) and hit 6-of-14 (43 percent) from long distance. Adrian outrebounded Trine 36-29 and held an 18-10 edge in the paint.
Jackson scored the first 11 points for the Bulldogs, who were able to gain separation with a 14-5 run over the final 5:28 of the first half. Jackson scored 14 of his points prior to halftime. Rodak scored all eight of his points before the break.
Six straight for the Thunder cut the score to 30-26 early in the second half, but Adrian pushed the score back to 40-29 with 10:50 to play.
An eight-point Trine run capped by a Syroka jumper cut the score to 40-37 with 6:25 remaining, but that's as close as the Thunder would get. Five straight points from Denham pushed the Bulldog lead back to eight. Trine would get no closer than five the rest of the way.
The Thunder return to action this Wednesday, Jan. 14 when they travel to Kalamazoo. Tip-off is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.