Box Score Painesville, OHIO – The Trevecca Nazarene University Men's Basketball team (5-15, 5-13 Great Midwest) was unable to overcome a first half deficit to end its road trip with a 68-53 loss at the Lake Erie Storm (3-10, 3-10 Great Midwest) on Thursday.
The loss comes after Trevecca had put together back-to-back wins over Tiffin and Ohio Dominican.
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SERIES HISTORY/NOTES
It was only the fifth meeting between Trevecca and Lake Erie, and Lake Erie now holds a 3-1 advantage over the Trojans all-time. It also completes the regular season sweep of the Trojans by the Storm, as Lake Erie defeated Trevecca 69-54 on February 6.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trevecca and Lake Erie battled back-and-forth early on, with Trevecca taking a 4-2 lead early with a bucket by Imani Starling. The Storm quickly responded to score nine straight points, and just minutes later Lake Erie led 15-6 with 11:57 to play at halftime. Trevecca was unable to convert enough field goals to close the gap before halftime and trailed 35-15 with 4:37 to play in the half. Brendan Newton, Starling, and Jaylon Tharpe were able to drop in shots before the buzzer, but Kevin Peterson hit a buzzer-beating three-pointer for Lake Erie that allowed the Storm to lead 40-21 at halftime.
Things improved for Trevecca out of the locker room, as Newton and Adam Webb scored the first six points of the second half. The Trojans started to inch closer to the Storm, making it a 12-point deficit with 13:40 to play after a jumper by Starling. Three minutes later, Trevecca cut the Lake Erie lead to 53-43 with over 10 minutes left after a triple by Calvin Walker. The Storm, however, started to pull away again with a 9-3 run. Walker hit another three-point jumper to pull Trevecca within 11 with 2:29 to play, but Leon Hughes answered right back with a three for Lake Erie. Trevecca outscored Lake Erie 32-28 in the second half, but the Storm were ultimately able to hold off the Trojans, winning 68-53.
PLAYER STATS BREAKDOWN
Imani Starling was the leader for the Trojans, converting eight of 14 field goal attempts for 18 points and six rebounds. Brendan Newton had a double-double with 16 points and 10 boards, while Adam Webb scored eight and Calvin Walker scored six with a pair of three-pointers.
Lake Erie's Jacob Plantz scored 17 for the Storm, while Kevin Peterson scored 16 and Jackson Burdyshaw was also in double figures with 11 points and seven rebounds.
TEAM STATS BREAKDOWN
Trevecca struggled to shoot the ball, hitting 23-of-58 field goal attempts (39.7%), and only hit three of 21 three-pointers (14%). Trevecca was outrebounded 41-38 and turned it over 12 times while forcing seven.
Lake Erie hit 27-of-66 shots (41%) and eight of 32 three-pointers (25%).
WHAT'S NEXT
After a four-game trip in which Trevecca went 2-2, the Trojans will return to Trojan Fieldhouse for the final two regular season games of the year, starting with the Panthers of Kentucky Wesleyan College coming to Trojan Fieldhouse for a 4:15 tip.
It is the 17th all-time meeting in the series, one the Panthers have dominated. KWC leads the series 13-3 and beat TNU 53-39 on December 31 to deny the Trojans back-to-back wins in the series. The first two wins in the series were back-to-back in 2015 and 2016. Trevecca defeated KWC at the close of the 2019-2020 season, breaking an eight-game win streak for the Panthers in the series.
The final regular-season game is on Saturday, February 27 when Ohio Valley University visits for a 4:15 PM tip at Trojan Fieldhouse. The 16th meeting in the series ends the regular season for the Trojans. Trevecca leads the series 12-3 after winning at OVU, 76-69, earlier this season. Trevecca has claimed the last two in the series.
The top eight teams in standings make the Great Midwest Athletic Conference tournament. The tournament dates are March 2, 5, 6.
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