Heggeland Reaches 1,000-Career Points, TU Rallies Past Jaguars
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UNIVERSITY PARK, Ill. – Jake Heggeland became the third member of the Taylor men’s basketball team in the program’s last seven games to reach 1,000-career points and TU turned in a dominant second half to pull away from Governors State in an 85-68 road win.
Heggeland finished the contest with 1,004 points in his four years with the Purple and Gold, becoming the 42nd player to reach that mark in program history, the second player this season and the third in TU’s last seven games dating back to last season.
The Trojans now boast three players with over 1,000-career points on the active roster, with Heggeland (1,004), Mason Degenkolb (1,030) and Evan Crowe (1,054). Ryan Robinson could join the group, as the junior ended Saturday with 855 points on his resume.
Robinson and Heggeland played significant roles in the comeback win at GSU (2-4), as Robinson netted 21 points on eight-of-15 shooting and dished out five assists in his third game in five tries this season with at least 20 points. Heggeland connected on seven-of-10 attempts from the floor for 15 points and pulled down seven rebounds.
Degenkolb and Vincent Miranda also cracked double figures in the scoring column, as Degenkolb closed with 13 points, five assists and two steals, while Miranda netted 10 points.
Jason Hubbard turned in another strong effort, scoring all nine of his points during the decisive second half, while James McCloud turned in his best effort of the young season with eight points and eight rebounds.
Taylor overcame a sluggish opening half to secure its first win of the season, facing a 12-2 start from the Jaguars and a 38-31 deficit at the break.
TU responded by shooting 22-of-35 from the field in the final 20 minutes for a blistering 62.9-percent rate and rattled in five-of-12 looks from deep after a one-of-13 showing in the opening stanza.
The result was a 53-30 rout of the hosts throughout the second half, as the Trojans set the tone with the first 10 points out of the intermission and never looked back. Robinson fueled the early spurt with six-straight points and an eventual 33-13 stretch opened a 64-51 TU lead by the 9:35 mark.
An 8-0 rally from the hosts cut the lead to five, but Taylor punched back with a 12-0 run for a 76-59 lead and cruised to the 85-68 win.
Taylor committed only 11 turnovers despite being pressed throughout the affair, scored 19 points off 15 offensive rebounds and holding scoring edges of 36-10 in the paint and 19-4 off the bench.
TU (1-4) will play its third NAIA Top-10 foe in six tries to open the season when it travels to No. 2 IU East (3-2) for a 7:00 pm tip on Tuesday.
