ANGOLA, Ind.-- The Trine men's basketball team opened the 2015-16 campaign with a 65-50 victory over Heidelberg in front of the home fans at Hershey Hall.
The Thunder never trailed in the contest and held a double-digit lead over the final 16 minutes of action. Trine was able to force Heidelberg into a cold shooting effort as the Student Princes shot 33 percent from the field (18-of-54) and hit just 2-of-17 (11.8 percent) of their attempts from three-point range. Jared Holmquist (Reed City, Mich./Reed City) opened his senior season with a double-double, scoring 24 points and adding 11 rebounds for Trine. Marcquice Taylor came off the bench to score 11 points for the Berg. The Thunder opened the season 1-0. Heidelberg is 0-1.
Trine forced the Student Princes into 16 turnovers while committing just nine themselves against Heidelberg's pressure defense. The Thunder converted miscues by the opposition into 18 points, while the Student Princes were able to manage just six points off Trine turnovers.
Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind./Zionsville) scored 14 points while adding eight rebounds, two assists and three steals. Senior Tarvis Malone (Toledo, Ohio/St. John's Jesuit) and freshman Kyle Dodson (Centerville, Ohio/Centerville) each provided an important spark from outside as each player knocked down three treys and scored nine points. Trine was 7-of-18 (38.9 percent) from long-distance on the evening.
The Thunder opened on an 11-4 run over the first 5:40 of game action to establish early control. Trine held Heidelberg to 2-of-9 shooting and forced a turnover in the first 10 possessions to set the tone defensively. Holmquist scored six of Trine's first 11 on the offensive end.
The Student Princes cut their deficit to three on a layup by Taylor late in the first half, but Holmquist drove the paint to hit a short floater at the buzzer to re-establish positive momentum for the Thunder entering the half.
Back-to-back threes by Dodson and Malone opened up Trine's first double-digit lead at 36-25 early in the second half. A layup by Dixon later pushed the lead back to double-digits for good at 40-29 with 16:32 to play. The Thunder would go on to lead by as much as 19. Heidelberg never got any closer than 13 points over the final 15:55 of the contest.
Heidelberg's bench scored 32 points to just 18 from the starting five. No Student Prince starter scored more than six points on the night.
Holmquist's performance leaves the senior within striking distance of the 1,000-point milestone in his career. He will enter Thursday's contest with a chance to reach the milestone at home, as he enters play with 981 career points.
Trine will host North Park in Thursday night's action in Hershey Hall. Tip-off between the Thunder and Vikings is slated for 7 p.m.