Taylor Overcomes Slow Start to Score Overtime Win
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UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor fell behind by 17 points to Goshen in Saturday’s opening half, before storming back with a 30-4 spurt and eventually outlasting the Leafs by a 71-68 margin in overtime inside Odle Arena.
TU opened three-of-21 from the floor with five turnovers in the opening 13 minutes while falling in a 27-10 deficit to Goshen (1-11, 0-5 CL). The Leafs sank five of their first nine looks from deep to open the 17-point gap.
Taylor battled through the sluggish start and finally roared to life with 15-straight points. A triple from CJ Penha then narrowed the margin to a single point, before a Vincent Miranda free throw tied the score at 29-29 and sent TU to the break on a 19-2 surge.
The run carried over into the second stanza with Taylor netting the first four points out of the break and eventually taking a 40-31 lead with an 11-2 start to the second period and an overall stretch of 30-4.
Just when Taylor seemed to be in total control, Goshen rattled off a 17-8 stretch to tie the game and later took a 60-57 lead with 2:46 to play but Ryan Robinson scored 10 points over the close of regulation and overtime to keep the Trojans alive.
TU’s leading scorer put Taylor on top with a scooping layup with 40 seconds to play and then delivered yet again in overtime by scoring five-straight points to take a three-point lead with 15 seconds on the clock.
Robinson scored 13 of Taylor’s final 20 points to push the Purple and Gold to their third win in five Crossroads League outings, and finished with 17 points, four rebounds, three assists and two blocks.
A trio of Trojans joined Robinson in double figures, with Mason Degenkolb netting 15 and the tandem of Jason Hubbard and Jake Heggeland teaming for 20 points and 15 rebounds. Miranda and Penha each played well off the bench, as Miranda had eight rebounds and Penha closed with nine boards.
Taylor won the battle on the glass by a 51-46 count to improve to 4-1 this season when outrebounding its opponent.
TU (5-8, 3-2 CL) will return to action on Friday, December 14 at 7:00 pm, when it hosts Lincoln Christian (7-7) inside Odle Arena.
