Men's Basketball 12/31/2020 12:00:00 AM

Trevecca Men's Basketball | KWC Holds Off Depleted Trojans

Box Score

OWENSBORO, Ky. – The Trevecca Nazarene University Men's Basketball team (1-5 1-3 G-MAC), playing for the first time in 12 days and for the final time in 2020, faced Kentucky Wesleyan College (2-1, 1-1 G-MAC) with an abridged roster at the Owensboro Sports Center on New Year's Eve. The Panthers win 53-39.

The Trojans, coming off a win at Ohio Valley University, played with just nine - Anthony Howard, Imani Starling, Zeke Grier, Austin Wills, Brayden Jackson, Jaylon Tharpe, Hank Hutcheson, Sam Champlin, Robbie Rusciano – of their 18-person varsity roster.

SERIES HISTORY/NOTES

In the 16th all-time meeting, the Panthers now lead the series 13-3. Trevecca won in the last meeting, on senior day last year in Nashville. The TNU win broke an eight-game win streak for the Panthers in the series. KWC is 8-0 all-time at home vs Trevecca.

The two teams will meet again in Nashville at Trojan Fieldhouse on February 20. Trevecca is 3-4 vs. KWC at Trojan Fieldhouse.

HOW IT HAPPENED

Both teams looked rusty following the mandatory NCAA Division II Christmas break. Neither team had suited up since December 19.

The game remained tight until KWC doubled up TNU 16-8 with 9:30 left in the half. Jaylon Tharpe sank a three with 7:27 left to pull the Trojans to within three (16-13), and neither team scored for nearly two minutes, but then the Panthers pulled away to lead by 10 (23-13) at the 2:28 mark. Hank Hutcheson stole the ball and finished to cut the KWC lead to 23-15 at the break.

Both teams struggled shooting in the first half. The Trojans hit just 22% (6-27) from the field but held the home team to 35% (9-26). If possible, both teams struggled even more from three-point range, only hitting three each. Trevecca hit 20% (3-15) from deep and KWC 23% (3-13).

The difference for KWC was rooted in outrebounding the visitors 21-17 and converting on their 9-7 edge in turnovers. The Panthers outscored the Trojans 13-5 on points off of turnover, equaling the margin on the scoreboard at the break. The Panthers also held a 6-0 edge in second-chance scoring.

KWC came out of the locker room with a 7-0 run and doubled up the Trojans again (30-15). The Trojans were cold from the field and didn't score until Imani Starling converted a layup with 15:27 left in the game. Starling added a free throw on the and-one opportunity. It started a 7-0 Trojan run, cutting the Panther lead to eight (30-22) with 12:56 left.

KWC slowly pulled ahead again, building their largest lead of the game at 23 (47-24) with 6:34 left. The undermanned Trojans did not wilt; instead, they used a 13-0 run to cut the Panthers lead to 10. The Trojans had chances to get it to single digits, but the Panthers were able to hold off the Trojans late and secured the 53-29 win.

PLAYER STATS BREAKDOWN

Austin Wills led the Trojans with 11 points, and Robbie Rusciano added 10. Imani Starling grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds. Jaylon Tharpe filled all the stat categories with seven points, six rebounds, two assists, two blocks, and a steal.

TEAM STATS BREAKDOWN

As it was in the first half, KWC earned the win with points off of turnovers for the game. The home teams 26-9 edge in that key category might have been the difference in the outcome. They also had a 24-16 edge in points scored in the paint and a 16-0 advantage in second-chance scoring.

Trevecca shot five free throws, hitting all five. KWC hit 12 of 17 tries at the line. Both teams continued their rusty shooting for the game in the second half. KWC hit just 33% (18-54) from the field, while Trevecca hit 29% (15-52). Three-point shooting was not stellar either. The Panthers shot 24% (5-21), and the Trojans hit just 15% (4-26) from beyond the arc.

WHAT'S NEXT

Trevecca now faces a stretch of four consecutive games at home. Saturday, Malone University visits at 4:15 PM. It will be the Pioneers first game of the season. Defending champion Walsh University visits Monday at 7:15 PM. They open at KWC Saturday. The match up Monday with TNU will be their second game of the year.

Preseason No. 2 Cedarville University (0-1) visits Trojan Fieldhouse Thursday (7:15 PM) and Saturday, January 9; it will be 2-1 Tiffin University (4:15 PM).

MORE ABOUT THE TREVECCA TROJANS

Visit Official Home of Trevecca Athletics at www.tnutrojans.com

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