NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Persistence was the word of the night on Thursday for the Trevecca Nazarene University men's basketball team. The Trojans trailed for much of the night, but they continued to battle, and in the final five minutes of the game, their determination carried the evening.
Trevecca (5-1, 1-0 GSC) took their first lead of the night with 5:29 to play on a 3-point play from Da'Shon Fisher, and the Trojans led the rest of the way to defeat the Auburn University at Montgomery Warhawks (2-5, 0-1 GSC), 67-63.
HOW IT HAPPENED
AUM opened the game on an 8-0 run, and the Warhawks looked to be in control early. The Warhawks pushed that run out to 17-5 over the first 8:48 of the game, but Trevecca answered emphatically.
Fred Bailey connected on a jump shot with 10:15 to play, and that ignited a 12-0 spurt from Trevecca that spanned nearly five full minutes and knotted the game at 17 apiece. During the run, the Trojans were 5-for-6 from the floor, and they held the Warhawks to 0-for-8 shooting with three turnovers. Despite the run, though, Trevecca never was able to take the lead, and at the break, AUM held a slim 34-30 lead.
AUM opened the second stanza on an 8-2 run to stretch their lead back to double digits at 42-32 with 17:21 to go in the game. That is when the Trojans started to whittle away. Jax Abernathy and Fred Bailey connected on 3-pointers, and Abernathy added a layup to trim the margin to 44-40. Later in the half, Fisher, Abernathy, and Jeremy Jackson, Jr. combined for six straight TNU tallies and the margin shrunk to 50-48. As the clock wound down, Trevecca continued to hold the Warhawks at bay on the defensive end of the floor, and Fisher cut the deficit to a single point with a layup off a feed from Spencer White with 6:57 to play. Moments later, Fisher connected on a jumper in the paint, and he converted the 3-point play to give the Trojans the 56=55 lead, and Trevecca led the rest of the night. In the final five minutes, Trevecca protected the basketball well, and they out-scored AUM 14-8 to eke out the win, 67-63.
THE TEAM
In contrast to their strong offensive start to the season, the Trojans did not shoot the ball well on Thursday evening. Trevecca made only 21 of 64 (32.8%) shots in the game, and they were 7-for-36 (19.4%) from long distance. The Trojans did get to the charity stripe 30 times in the game, but at the line, they shot just 60 percent (18-for-30). The Trojans and Warhawks each grabbed 47 rebounds, and Trevecca scored well both on the fastbreak (23-8) and off turnovers (12-6) in the game.
THE PLAYERS
Abernathy led the Trojans offensively, and he tied for the game-high with AUM's Chappelle Whitney with 22 points. Bailey added 14 points, Fisher chipped in nine, and Jackson, Jr. added eight. Jackson, Jr. and White each reeled in 10 boards, Bailey dished out five assists, and White picked the pockets of AUM players three times in the game.
UP NEXT
The road does not get easier for the Trojans on Saturday, when they will welcome the GSC preseason favorites to the Trojan Fieldhouse. Trevecca will battle the University of Montevallo Falcons (3-3, 0-1 GSC), with tip-off slated for 4 p.m.
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