No. 15 Trojans Hit Century Mark in Season-Opening Win
UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor men’s basketball team improved to 5-0 in home openers under head coach Josh Andrews with a resounding, 100-72, rout of Wright State-Lake inside Odle Arena on Tuesday evening.
The Trojans showcased their firepower throughout the roster by placing six players in double figures in the scoring column with nine players netting at least six points. Evan Crowe led the attack with a game-high 20 points, with Jake Heggeland, Keaton Hendricks, Mason Degenkolb, Ryan Robinson and James McCloud all scoring between 10 and 13 points. Vincent Miranda added nine points, with Emmanuel Boateng and Joe Ingersoll scoring six, as the Trojan bench supplied 45 points.
In addition to scoring in double figures and sinking a triple for the 27th-straight game, Hendricks joined McCloud in pulling down a game-high six rebounds, with Boateng and Ingersoll each collecting five boards.
The Trojans pushed the tempo all night, collecting 29 points in transition and pounding the ball inside for a 62-20 edge in points in the paint over the Lakers. Taylor assisted on 21-of-39 baskets in the contest, led by a career-high six helpers from Degenkolb and five from Fleming.
TU also added four blocks and nine steals in the contest, with Boateng adding a pair of emphatic blocks and Miranda swiping three steals. Heggeland and Boateng each electrified the crowd with a pair of dunks.
TU opened one-of-eight from the field and connected on only two-of-10 looks from beyond the arc in the opening 20 minutes of action and took a 41-28 lead to the intermission. The Trojans blew the game open with makes on four of their first five three-point attempts out of the break and shot 53.8 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes, while pouring in 59 second-half points.
No. 15 Taylor (1-0) will compete at the Trinity International Classic over the weekend, playing Viterbo on Friday at 6:30 pm and taking on No. 8 TIU on Saturday at 8:30 pm in a rematch of last season’s NAIA National Championship Tournament Sweet 16 clash.