Taylor Nets 95 in Season-Opening Victory
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UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor men’s basketball program saw six players score in double figures and moved to 6-1 in home openers under Josh Andrews with a 95-83 win over Great Lakes Christian on Tuesday inside Odle Arena.
The Trojans dominated the glass by a 41-23 margin against the Crusaders (0-2), with CJ Penha and James McCloud leading the way with a combined 26 boards. The duo stole the show all night, combining to shoot 17-of-20 from the field for 44 points, 26 rebounds, five assists and two blocks.
Penha led all players with 26 points and 13 rebounds, collecting the second double-double of his career and setting career highs in rebounds, as well as with 12 field goals made and three assists. The sophomore collected the third 20-point game of his career, with all three of those coming over his last nine contests dating back to the end of last season.
McCloud also turned in a career night with 18 points, 13 caroms, two assists and one block, while shooting five-of-six from the field and eight-of-nine from the free throw line. The junior posted career-bests in points, rebounds and free throws made, while recording the second double-double of his career.
The duo had plenty of help, as all six Trojans that found the scoring column went on to net at least 10 points. Ryan Robinson finished with 19 points and five assists, passing Randy Aalbregtse (70-73) and Keaton Hendricks (14-18) on TU’s all-time scoring charts to climb to No. 29 with 1,325 career points. Mason Degenkolb and Vincent Miranda chipped in 11 points each and Jason Hubbard scored 10 and set new career-highs with five steals and three assists.
As a team, Taylor shot 56.9 percent from the field and 40.9 percent from deep, using the advantage on the glass and 21 fastbreak points to overcome 23 turnovers in the up-tempo and physical affair.
TU started the night slow, struggling to fall into a rhythm as the guests opened a 21-15 lead with 9:24 to play in the first half. Degenkolb and Robinson got the Trojans going however, drilling back-to-back triples to draw Taylor even and sparking an eventual 20-7 spurt over the next seven minutes.
Taylor led from there, taking a 41-32 lead to the half and opening a 22-point lead by the midway point of the final stanza en route to the 95-83 victory.
The Trojans (1-0) will be back in action on Friday at Judson (1-0) in a 7:30 pm tip.