ANGOLA, Ind. - In a matchup of dueling 30-point scorers, the Trine University men's basketball team behind senior Ian Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) defeated Mount Vernon Nazarene and their scorer Jason Dawson, 82-65. The Thunder improve their record to 6-2 on the season.

Behind the hot shooting of Jackson and fellow senior Scott Rogers (Waterford, Mich./Kettering), the Thunder raced out to an early 11-points lead just 5 minutes into the game at 13-2. The Cougars would slowly chip away at the Thunder lead, tying the game at 27-27 with 7:49 to play in the half. From there though, it was not only the Trine offense but also the Thunder defense that stepped up, allowing just four points, all on free throws, the rest of the half.

In the first half alone, Rogers and Jackson scored 17 and 16 points respectively. For the half, the Thunder shot an outstanding 60 percent (18-of-30) from the floor and were a perfect 11-for-11 from the charity stripe.

Leading 50-31 to start the second half, Mount Vernon would cut the Trine lead to 10 early in the period. That would be a close as the Cougars would get as once again both the Thunder offense and defense picked things up in the final 10 minutes. With the score 63-53, Trine would go on a 18-5 run over the next 6 minutes to push their lead to the largest of the game at 23 points with 4:38 remaining in the half to secure the victory.

Jackson scored a season-high 34 points on 11-of-14 shooting and was a perfect 10-for-10 from the free throw line. Jackson also dished out a team season-high six assists. Rogers finished his night making 10-of-15 from the floor for 23 points while pulling down a team season-high 12 rebounds. Rogers also dished out a season-high five assists. Off the bench, junior transfer Todd Watkins (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Bernard) scored seven points and grabbed six rebounds. Sophomore Dustin Hall (Fort Wayne, Ind./South Side) led the Thunder with three steals.

On the night, Trine shot 53.7 percent (29-of-54) from the floor compared to just 39 percent (20-of-51) for the Cougars. For just the second time this season, the Thunder out-rebounded their opponent, 34-26. Trine also tied a season-high with 15 assists, but also gave up a season-high 13 turnovers.

Trine will take the weekend off before returning to action on December 17 for a 7:00 p.m. game as they travel to non-conference opponent Franklin College.