ANGOLA, Ind. - It was a tough loss for the Trine University men's basketball team as they fell 82-75 to Franklin College despite all five of Trine's starters scoring in double-digits. The loss snaps the Thunder's five game winning streak, as they drop to 6-3 on the season. 

Franklin jumped out to the early lead after back-to-back three pointers by Clay Starrett to give the Grizzlies a 15-8 lead five minutes in. Trine slowly battled their way back to tie the game at 25 with six minutes remaining in the first half. Trine went on a run over the next three minutes to gain their biggest lead of the game at 34-28 with just over two minutes left, but that wouldn't last long as Franklin scored seven unanswered to go back up by one. Junior Scott Rogers (Waterford, Mich./Kettering) nailed two free throws with 30 seconds left to give Trine a 36-35 lead at the break.

The Thunder came out ready to play to open the second half as they quickly built up a five point lead just three minutes into the half, but the scoring would quickly come to a halt. Franklin didn't allow a Trine bucket over the next five minutes as they regained the lead. Trine answered right back scoring seven unanswered points cut the lead to just one, but that would be as close as they would come. Franklin again answered right back scoring 10 unanswered points in just two minutes to gain their first double-digit lead of the game. The two sides traded baskets over the final six minutes of the game, but the Thunder were unable to close the gap. 

Junior Ian Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) led the Thunder with 19 points. Senior Tim Pearcy (Vicksburg, Mich./Vicksburg) added in 14 points to go along with four rebounds and three steals. Rogers contributed with 12 points while sophomore Chris Kent (Angola, Ind./Angola) and freshman Dustin Hall (Fort Wayne, Ind./South Side) each added in 10 points. Kent also had a team-high six rebounds, five assists and three steals.

The Thunder created 17 Franklin turnovers, turning them into 25 points. The different in the game came in the overall shooting accuracy for the Thunder. Trine hit 27-of-60 (45%) from the floor compared to 29-for-53 (54.7%) for the Grizzlies. Franklin also made 35.7% of their shots from behind the arc to just 18.2% for Trine. 

Starrett led Franklin with a game-high 23 points.

Trine will take a couple of days off before heading to the Defiance College Purple and Gold Tournament starting December 29 when they take on Lakeland College at 5:00 p.m.