Trojans Go Cold in Loss to Saints
UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor never trailed until the 5:55 mark of the second half and held a share of the lead for all but 122 seconds of game action on Friday against Thomas More, but went scoreless over the final 4:25 of a 60-55 loss.
Taylor opened the night on fire, hitting seven-of-eight shots and racing to a 17-5 lead by the 12:57 mark. The Trojans pushed the spread to a game-high of 15 points at 22-7 and again at 26-11, before cooling over the final seven minutes and settling for a 33-22 lead at the break.
TU committed 11 turnovers in the first stanza and made just one three-point shot in nine attempts but held a double-digit lead for the final 12:57 of the half thanks to limiting the Saints (4-0) to one-of-10 from deep and just 22 first-half points on 34.6-percent shooting.
The Trojans opened the second period with a stop and score to push the lead back to 13, as CJ Penha reached his third-straight double-double to open the season with a defensive rebound and bucket on the first two possessions out of the break.
Thomas More finally cut the deficit back to single-digits by scoring the next six points and continued to slowly turn the game around on the defensive end against a struggling Trojan shooting attack.
The guests held Taylor to eight points over the first 8:31 of the half to scratch to within 41-37 and later took their first lead of the game at 51-50 with 5:55 to play in the contest.
Mason Degenkolb found Vincent Miranda for a much-needed three-ball to put Taylor back on top and a deuce from James McCloud gave the Trojans a 55-51 lead with 4:25 remaining.
Those would be the final points of the evening for Taylor however, as TMU took its second lead of the game with 52 seconds to go and held on the steal the 60-55 decision.
Taylor scored just 22 second-half points on two-of-15 shooting from three-point range. The Saints found their rhythm over the final 20 minutes to shoot 50.0 percent in the period and got just enough offense to slip past TU.
Degenkolb closed the night with 15 points, five rebounds and a career-high three blocks, with Penha notching 13 rebounds for the third-straight game and adding 12 points and two steals. The duo was helped by eight rebounds, six points and a career-high three steals from McCloud and 10 points off the bench from Miranda.
Taylor (2-1) will look to get back in the win column on Tuesday, November 12, when it hosts No. 10 Indiana Kokomo (4-1).