Taylor Men Drop Exhibition at NCAA Division I Miami Ohio
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OXFORD, Ohio – Taylor faced another tough early-season test on Monday in the form of an exhibition contest at NCAA Division I Miami Ohio. The Trojans led early against the MAC foe and trailed by only 14 at the half, before eventually falling by an 84-53 margin.
TU took a quick 5-0 lead over the Redhawks, who are picked to finish second in the Mid-American Conference East Division, on a deuce from James McCloud and a triple from Jason Hubbard. TU went on to hold leads of 7-4, 13-9 and 15-13 but a 16-0 stretch from the hosts turned the game in Miami Ohio’s favor.
Taylor trailed 41-27 at the break and managed only 14 points over the first 14:31 of the second stanza, as the gap swelled to 71-41 on the way to the 84-53 final.
Hubbard carried TU in the second period, netting 11 of the first 14 points of the half for the Trojans and ended with team-highs of 17 points and seven rebounds to go with one block. The freshman connected on seven-of-nine looks from the floor and two-of-three attempts from beyond the arc.
Emmanuel Boateng followed Hubbard in double figures with 11 points, while Vincent Miranda finished with six points and four rebounds. McCloud chipped in three steals and Jake Heggeland closed with six boards.
The duo of Hubbard and Boateng shot a combined nine-of-12 from the field and four-of-six from deep, while the rest of the roster went 11-of-51 overall and two-of-20 from the perimeter.
Both sides struggled with turnovers, as TU and Miami Ohio combined for 43 miscues, but the Redhawks capitalized with a 25-3 advantage in points in transition and a 24-9 edge in points off turnovers.
Taylor (0-3) will return to its regular season schedule on Wednesday night, when it plays at IU Kokomo (3-0) in a 7:30 pm start.
