ANGOLA, Ind. – The Trine men's basketball team defeated Kalamazoo, 54-50, in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association conference game Wednesday night in Hershey Hall.

A 7-0 run late in the second half allowed Trine to take back the lead and put an end to the Hornets' comeback attempt. Will Dixon (Indianapolis, Ind. / Zionsville) led the Thunder with 17 points and four assists. He now moves into sixth in career points in school history with 1,679. Kyle Dodson (Centerville, Ohio / Centerville) contributed to the offense with 15 points, knocking down four three-pointers. 

Trine's defense held Kalamazoo to a 38.9 percent (21-of-54) shooting clip and forced 14 turnovers. Ellis Cummings (Ottawa Hills, Ohio / Ottawa Hills) had five blocks on defense. He now has 37 on the season, moving him to fifth  in team history for blocks in a season. Dixon's three steals moves him into eighth in steals in team history, giving him 150 in his career.

Trine improved to 10-10 overall and 5-4 in MIAA to take control of sole possession of fourth place. Kalamazoo fell to 6-13 overall and to 2-7 in conference.

Josh Miller had a double-double for the Hornets with 23 points and 14 boards. Kalamazoo outscored the Thunder in the paint by a margin of 34-12.

After a low scoring first half, Trine led Kalamazoo 29-19 going into the second half. Dodson and Johnson paced the Thunder, both with nine points coming on three three-pointers apiece. Trine held the Hornets to a 29.6 percent (8-of-27) shooting clip and did not allow any three-point makes. Cummings had all five of his blocks in the first half.

In the second half, the Hornets took their second lead of the game on a three with 4:28 remaining in the game. A seven-point run by Trine to take back the lead stymied the Hornets' comeback attempt. A Dixon steal and layup gave the Thunder the lead back at 49-48 with 2:22 to play. A later jump shot by Dixon made it a two-possession game, 52-48, with 1:17 left.

After a Miller dunk, Dodson split a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left to make it 53-50. The Thunder forced a miss at the other end and a Johnson free throw with 1.2 seconds left sealed the win.

Trine returns to action Saturday Feb. 4, when it plays host to Adrian for an MIAA conference game.  Tip-off is scheduled for 3 p.m.

Article courtesy Cody Konieczki, Trine University, Communications New Media '17