Second-Half Rally Ends Short in Loss to No. 16 Knights
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UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor outscored No. 16 Marian by a 63-41 margin over the final 25:01 of game action on Tuesday night but a potential game-tying shot rattled out at the horn to send TU to a 74-72 defeat.
The Trojans had to dig out of a 33-9 deficit after a disastrous start that saw MU (18-5, 7-4 CL) sink 10 of its first 14 looks and open five-of-six from deep. Taylor countered with just six first-half field goals, with no makes from beyond the arc and seven turnovers on the way to a 38-19 Marian lead at the half.
TU came to life midway through the second half and surged back to draw even with 1:52 to play, after outplaying the Knights with a 30-9 run of its own.
Mason Degenkolb fueled the comeback, bringing Taylor within single digits with a transition triple, before assisting three-straight treys from Evan Crowe and Ryan Robinson and knocking down a pair of free throws.
The Trojans drew within two on a pair of Jason Hubbard free throws, before Degenkolb drew a charge on the defensive end and buried the game-tying bucket to make it a 69-69 contest.
The visitors responded with a three-point play out of a timeout and added another hoop to push the lead back to five, but a Ryan Robinson basket was followed by a Jason Hubbard steal that gave Taylor one final chance with six seconds remaining.
Degenkolb was fouled with 2.6 seconds on the clock to prevent a potential game-tying three and hit the first free throw to cut the margin to 74-72. Degenkolb intentionally missed the second attempt and chased down his own rebound off a deflection from CJ Penha but the baseline jumper went just off target as time expired.
After shooting 24.0 percent from the floor with a three-point make in the first half, Taylor converted 55.9-percent of its looks during the final stanza and drained eight-of-18 attempts from long distance. TU also doubled up Marian on the glass by a 22-11 count in the final 20 minutes.
Degenkolb finished with 16 points and five assists, with 13 points and all five helpers coming after the half. The junior moved past former teammate, Keaton Hendricks, on TU’s all-time scoring charts with the performance, climbing to 28th with 1,332 points.
Crowe followed with 13 points after a scoreless first half and Hubbard added 11 points, seven rebounds, three steals and one block. Penha added nine points and Jake Heggeland closed with seven points and six boards.
Taylor (11-12, 5-6 CL) will look to bounce back at Saint Francis (12-11, 5-6 CL) on Saturday at 3:00 pm.
