CLINTON, Miss. – Thursday eveningre presented a missed opportunity for the Trevecca Nazarene University men's basketball team. On Saturday, the Trojans got back on the proverbial horse with a solid performance and a bounce-back road win.
Trevecca (10-5, 5-4 GSC) locked down the defensive end of the floor in the final 20 minutes of play, as they pulled away to an 85-68 win at Mississippi College (8-8, 5-5 GSC) to pull back above the break even mark in Gulf South Conference play.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The home-standing Choctaws hung with the Trojans early, and MC inched their way in front over the opening eight minutes of play. With 12:35 to play, Mississippi College held the 16-14 lead, but an 11-4 Trevecca run helped the Trojans take a 25-20 lead just more than four minutes later. With 6:53 to go, Jax Abernathy got to the rim and ignited a 10-2 run that pushed the Trojans' lead to nine at 35-26, and at the break, Trevecca led 43-39.
Trevecca put their defensive stamp on the game in the opening three minutes of the second half. Trevecca forced misses on the Choctaws' first two shots of the second half, and they forced two MC turnovers as well, as a part of an 8-2 run that pushed the Trevecca lead to 51-41. Another quick 7-0 run from the Trojans pushed their lead to 63-50 at the midway point of the half, and a late 11-3 run helped Trevecca put the game away. Trevecca held Mississippi College to only nine made shots in the second half, of which only two were from beyond the arc, and the Trojans cruised to the win, 85-68.
THE TEAM
For the second game in a row, Trevecca made 28 of 57 (49.1%) shots in the game, though on Saturday they were a little better from deep with a 9-for-27 (33.3%) effort. Trevecca racked up 30 free throw attempts in the game, and they made 20 of them - a 66.7% mark. Trevecca won the rebounding battle 33-30, and the Trojans dominated in scoring off turnovers (20-8) and on the fast break (21-5). The Trojans also had 21 assists on 28 made field goals in the game, they outscored the Choctaws 22-13 off the bench, and they protected the basketball with only eight turnovers in the game.
THE PLAYERS
Da'Shon Fisher led the Trojans with 22 points in the game on 6-for-12 shooting with an 8-for-10 performance at the free throw stripe. Abernathy scored 17 points in the game, and Fred Bailey chipped in 16. Bailey recorded a double-double - and he narrowly missed a triple-double - with team-leading marks in rebounds (10) and assists (8).
UP NEXT
Trevecca will return home for a week that will feature two games against long-time rivals. The Trojans will battle Christian Brothers University (2-11, 1-8 GSC) on Thursday night at 7:30 p.m.On Saturday, they will take on the Union University Bulldogs (7-7, 3-5 GSC) for the 81st time - the second most played opponent in program history - at 4 p.m.
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