Taylor Closes Regular Season with Senior Day Loss
UPLAND, Ind. – A slow start to the second half cost Taylor on Saturday, as Grace took the lead and went on to score a 79-67 victory over the Trojans on Senior Day inside Odle Arena.
Taylor held a 37-35 lead at the break after back-to-back triples from CJ Penha and Evan Crowe flipped a four-point deficit into the two-point cushion heading to the lockers.
TU and Grace (15-15, 5-13 CL) traded buckets to open the second stanza, before Taylor went cold from the field, connecting on only one shot in nine attempts during a decisive, 14-2, rally from the visitors.
The cold spell put Taylor in a 54-44 hole and the Trojans never got within a single possession the rest of the way. TU twice narrowed the margin to six, only to see the Lancers strike back from long distance on their ensuing possession.
Taylor mounted one final push on a fast-break dunk from Jason Hubbard and a long triple from Ryan Robinson to draw within 64-60 with 6:30 to go, but GC scored the next five and 11 of the next 14 to put the game away.
TU shot only 39.4 percent from the floor over the final 20 minutes, while Grace drilled 57.1 percent of its tries to outscore Taylor by a 44-30 margin in the half.
Robinson led four Trojans in double figures with 15 points, while Hubbard closed with 14, Vincent Miranda added 12 and Penha scored 12.
Taylor (11-19, 5-13 CL) will be the eight seed in the upcoming Crossroads League Tournament and will take on No. 5 and top-seeded Spring Arbor (24-6, 14-4 CL) on Wednesday at 7:00 pm in the CL Tourney Quarterfinals.