HOLLAND, Mich. - It was a tough night for the Trine University men's basketball team. After hanging tough through the opening minutes, the Thunder were unable to keep pace with Hope College, falling 76-61. Trine (11-7 overall) has now dropped back-to-back conference games for the first time this season, and now sit in a tie for third with Adrian with a 4-3 MIAA record.
Trine would open the game scoring the first points as the two sides battled back-and-forth through the opening 10 minutes of the game as neither team pulled ahead by more than two. From there though, Hope finished the half out-scoring Trine 28-12 as the Flying Dutchmen led 42-26 at the break.
The Thunder would open the second half scoring the first points once again, but Hope quickly responded with a dunk. Trine would make back-to-back buckets, but Hope would too answer with back-to-back baskets of their own. The Thunder would cut the lead to 12 after scoring five straight points, but they would never be able to pull any closer, despite out-scoring the Flying Dutchmen in the second half.
Senior Ian Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) led the Thunder with 14 points on 7-of-16 shooting while adding four rebounds and three assists. Fellow senior Neil Smith (Martinsville, Ind./Martinsville) came off the bench to score 10 points and was a perfect 4-for-4 from the floor. Senior Scott Rogers (Waterford, Mich./Kettering) and junior Todd Watkins (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Bernard) both added eight points for the Thunder. Rogers grabbed a team-high five rebounds while Watkins pulled down four. Sophomore Jake Bagley (Van Wert, Ohio/Van Wert) scored seven points against his former team.
From the floor, Trine hung close with the Flying Dutchmen, shooting 24-of-57 (42.1%) compared to 26-of-62 (41.9%) for Hope. However, the Thunder uncharacteristically struggled form the free throw line. Trine entered the game 11th in Division III in field goal percentage, but made just 56 percent (9-of-16) on the night while Hope connected on 17-of-23.
Trine will look to bounce back when they travel to Kalamazoo on January 26 for a 3:00 p.m. game.