Robinson Drops 23 in Road Loss at No. 7 Cornerstone
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GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – Taylor went toe-to-toe on the road with No. 7 Cornerstone on Friday night for 35 minutes of action, until the Eagles stretched the lead out in the closing moments to hand the Trojans an 88-74 setback.
Cornerstone (2-1) opened the night on fire, drilling its first four looks from beyond the arc for a 12-0 lead but Ryan Robinson and Vincent Miranda combined for 16 points in a 26-13 response by TU that pushed Taylor to a 26-25 lead.
Miranda then single-handedly kept Taylor close for the duration of the opening half, stopping a 10-2 CU stretch with a triple and then answering back-to-back long balls from the hosts with another of his own from long range. Miranda then drilled a three-quarter court heave at the buzzer that found the bottom of the net to send TU to the intermission facing a 41-37 deficit.
Miranda closed the stanza with 15 points on four-of-four shooting from beyond the arc, with Robinson adding 10 for a total of 25 points on nine-of-12 shooting from the duo.
Both sides were on target throughout the first 20 minutes, combining to sink 15-of-28 tries from three-point range.
The gap grew to as many as seven multiple times in the first six minutes of the second period, before five-straight points from CJ Penha cut the margin to 53-51 and a trifecta from Emmanuel Boateng brought Taylor within a single point at 55-54.
Once again the Eagles responded to a Taylor challenge to extend the gap, this time netting the next seven points and eventually bumping the mark into double figures before Jason Hubbard struck from deep and Mason Degenkolb converted two free throws to bring TU back to within 65-60 with just over six minutes remaining.
That would prove to be the final push of the contest for Taylor, as CU kept on the attack and steadily took control while pulling away for the 14-point win.
The Eagles shot 52.6 percent from the field, compared to TU’s 42.6-percent rate and held critical advantages on the glass with a 42-28 edge and at the charity stripe with a 16-5 margin in makes.
TU found its range from three-point range and made 11-of-24 looks, but could not stop the CU attack and its 12-of-25 showing from downtown.
Robinson scored in double figures in each half and closed with a game-high 23 points on 10-of-18 shooting to go with six rebounds, three assists and one steal. Miranda ended with 17 points and three thefts, as the pair teamed for over half the scoring for TU.
Other notable performers for the Trojans included nine points and five rebounds from Hubbard, seven point and four boards from Penha, five assists from Degenkolb and three blocks from Jake Heggeland.
Taylor (0-2) will turn right back around to play No. 5 Indiana Tech (0-3) on Saturday in a 3:00 pm start at Cornerstone.
