Hubbard, Penha Post Double-Doubles in Overtime Defeat
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KOKOMO, Ind. – Jason Hubbard and CJ Penha combined for 28 points, 22 rebounds and two double-doubles in their fourth collegiate outing for Taylor, but it was not enough in a 102-96 overtime loss at Indiana Kokomo on Wednesday.
The Trojans were playing their fourth game in six days but managed to keep pace with the Cougars (4-0) in a fast-moving game that saw 19 lead changes and 14 ties, with neither side ever leading by more than six points.
It was TU that controlled the action and the lead throughout the majority of the opening stanza, using the long ball to open leads of 6-0, 13-7 and 28-22. Taylor knocked down six of its first 13 looks from three-point range but could not pull away and settled for a 38-35 edge at the break.
Taylor never trailed by more than a single point in the back-and-forth opening 20 minutes, as five players scored between five and eight points to fuel the offense. Mason Degenkolb and Vincent Miranda spurred the attack with eight points each.
The Cougars flipped the script on TU over the second half, taking the lead for the majority of the stanza and forcing the Trojans to repeatedly battle back to erase deficits of four and six points.
A 10-3 spurt momentarily put Taylor back in front at 80-77, after Ryan Robinson netted four-straight and Hubbard knocked down a trey to draw TU even. Robinson then canned a long three to reclaim the lead with 2:37 showing on the clock but IUK scored the next nine points for an 86-80 cushion with 16 seconds left.
Robinson and Degenkolb bailed out TU, as Robinson converted a three-point play before Degenkolb stole the in-bounds pass and banked in the game-tying triple to force overtime.
Another hoop from Robinson opened the extra period but the hosts netted the next five and held off TU for the 102-96 outcome.
Both sides shot the ball well, with Taylor connecting at a 45.0-percent clip and knocking down 13 trifectas. The Cougars countered with a 48.6-percent rate and made seven-of-11 three-balls after the intermission, in addition to holding a plus-12 advantage at the free-throw line after hitting 23-of-26 tries.
Robinson posted a team-high 24 points and dished out five assists for season-highs in each category, while Jake Heggeland scored a season-best 18 points to move to within 11 of the 1,000-point plateau.
The rookie duo of Hubbard and Penha also turned in the best games of their careers, as Hubbard drilled four three-pointers and ended with 18 points and 11 boards, while Penha closed with 10 points, 11 rebounds and two steals.
Taylor (0-4) will continue its challenging early-season slate with a date at Governors State (2-2) on Saturday at 4:00 pm.