MBB: Indiana Tech & Trine Fall On Road

The Indiana Tech men’s basketball team fell to Cornerstone University 74-58 in Thursday night’s WHAC Tournament Quarterfinal matchup.

The 5 ^th-seeded Warriors trailed the 4 ^th-seeded Golden Eagles by five at halftime after holding CU to 37 percent shooting through the first 20 minutes, but the home team hit over 55 percent of their shots in the second half to outscore Tech 42-31 en route to the victory.

Three Warriors scored in double figures, led by Jordan Hickman (Bardstown, KY/Vincennes) with 14 points, but Tech could not slow down the conference’s leading scorer Wes Hudson who finished with a game-high 27.

Hickman scored the first 11 points for the Warriors before Jeff Hoskins (Kalamazoo, MI/Indiana Wesleyan) buried a three-pointer to put Indiana Tech ahead 14-11 midway through the first half.

Following a Cornerstone triple to tie the game, both teams went scoreless for nearly four minutes until Antonio Landers (Monroe, LA/John Wood) converted a pair of free throws to jump back in front 16-14.

Tech had held CU’s Wes Hudson to just two points through almost 14 minutes of action, but he got hot over the final six minutes of the period pouring in 12 points, including a late three, to help the Golden Eagles take a 32-27 advantage into halftime.

The break wasn’t enough to cool off Hudson, who came out of the locker room and scored five straight points to push the Cornerstone lead to double digits, 37-27.

Melvin Brooks (Memphis, TN/Marion Military) and Hickman brought the Warriors back though cutting the deficit to three, 41-38, with 12:18 remaining in the contest.

With less than 11 minutes to play and the Golden Eagles clinging to a three point lead, Cornerstone used a 15-4 run over a five minute stretch to put the game out of reach.

Although the Warriors held CU to just 6-for-18 from behind the arc, the Golden Eagles capitalized on their advantage inside outscoring Tech 34-18 in the paint.

Brooks finished one rebound shy of a double-double, recording 12 points and nine boards. He also added four assists and three steals. Antonio Cannon (Indianapolis, IN/Ancilla) chipped in 10 points.

Indiana Tech (21-10, 14-8 WHAC) will await a possible at-large berth into the 22 ^nd annual NAIA Division II Men’s Basketball National Championship tournament on Mar. 6-12 in Point Lookout, Missouri. The bracket will be announced on Wednesday, Feb. 27.

An early lead wasn’t enough for the third seeded Trine University men’s basketball team to knock off the number two seed Hope College as the Thunder fell 76-63. The squad ends their season with a 14-12 record.

Trine got things started on their first possession of the game with a basket by junior Todd Watkins (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Bernard). Hope would answer with a basket of their own. The two sides would trade baskets early as freshman Nick Tatu (Clarkston, Mich./Clarkston) hit a pair of three’s for the Thunder. Trine would take their largest lead of the game at 20-14 with 11:34 to play.

The Thunder lead wouldn’t last long as the Flying Dutchmen would come back to score six straight and tie it at 20 with 9:37 to play. Trine would score back-to-back buckets of their own to re-take the lead, but once again Hope would rally to tie the game with 5:50 to play.

Hope would take their first lead of the game with 2:59 to play. Senior Ian Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) would hit a pair of free throws with just 2.5 seconds left to pull the Thunder within three at 38-35 at halftime.

Trine shot 50% from the floor in the first half hitting 15-of-30.

The two teams traded baskets to open the second half before Hope would score seven straight to take a 49-39 lead with 15:33 to play. The Thunder would score five straight of their own to cut into the Flying Dutchmen lead. Hope would go on another seven point run to push their lead to 13 points. Tatu would drill a three with 6:17 left in the game to pull the Thunder within six at 62-56 but that would be as close as they would get it as Hope pulled away in the end.

Jackson along with fellow senior Scott Rogers (Waterford, Mich./Kettering) and junior Tyler Good (Swanton, Ohio/Evergreen) led the Thunder with 12 points on the night. The 12 points by Good was also a career-high. Tatu finished the night with nine points, all from long distance. Fellow freshman Jared Holmquist (Reed City, Mich./Reed City) added eight points and led the Thunder with seven rebounds. Sophomore Dustin Hall (Fort Wayne, Ind./South Side) led all players with a game-high five assists.

For the night, the two sides shot nearly identical numbers as Trine made 25-of-61 (41%) from the floor while Hope connected on 26-of-63 (41.3%). Much like their previous meeting, Hope was able to convert on their free throw opportunities as they made 23-of-31 chances while the Thunder made 10-of-19.