DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. – At homecoming, the story was the high-octane nature of the Trevecca Nazarene University men's basketball offense in their exhibition victory over Wright State-Lake. On Friday, as their regular season commenced, the Trojans put up a stellar defensive effort and earned a season opening win.
Trevecca (1-0) held Palm Beach Atlantic University to just 1-for-19 (5.3%) shooting from the perimeter, and the Trojans rode that and a balanced offensive effort to a 73-62 win over the Sailfish (0-1).
HOW IT HAPPENED
Fred Bailey scored the first four points of the game in just 39 seconds, and the Trojans quickly led 4-0. At that point, though, the scoring pace slowed quickly and dramatically. A PBAU bucket with 17:02 to play in the half cut the lead to 6-4, and both teams went scoreless for the better part of the next three minutes until PBAU tied things with 14: 26 left on the clock. The Sailfish took their first lead of the game just more than a minute later, but within 20 seconds,
Justin Bass answered from deep to reclaim the lead for TNU. The score remained within a single possession either way for much of the remainder of the stanza, and the lead changed hands six times in the next six minutes before the Trojans began to earn some breathing room. A 10-2 Trevecca run turned a 14-12 deficit into a 22-16 lead with 5:07 to play in the period, and at intermission, Trevecca led by seven, 30-23.
PBAU clawed their way back in front with a 10-2 run to take a 33-32 lead early in the second half, but again it was Bass who answered immediately from deep, to push the Trojans back in front. Another 10-2 spurt for TNU stretched their lead to 42-35 with 13:34 to go in the game, and the lead stabilized between five and seven points for the next four minutes of action. Trevecca scored nine of the next 11 points to open a 55-43 lead with 6:36 left, capped by a pair of free throws from
D'Shay Knights Wright, and over the final moments of the game, the gap reached as many as 14 points with Trevecca cruising to the 73-62 win.
THE TEAM
Trevecca made 25 of 72 (34.7%) shots in the game, including a 7-for-23 (30.4%) showing from beyond the arc. In contrast with their homecoming win, the Trojans were excellent at the charity stripe, where they connected on 16 of 20 attempts (80%) as a team. The Trojans were out-rebounded 41-40, but they forced 21 turnovers and turned those into 23 points - an area where they held a sizable advantage of 23-8.
THE PLAYERS
Four Trojans found their way past into double-digits on the stat sheet, led by Bailey's 17.
Jett Montgomery scored 15, and Bass and Jeremy Jackson, Jr. each chipped in 14. Jackson, Jr. narrowly missed a double-double as he led the Trojans with nine boards, while
Tylan Lewis recorded four steals in the contest.
UP NEXT
Trevecca will battle the tournament host ERAU Eagles (0-0) in their tournament finale on Saturday at 7 p.m. to conclude their trip to the Space Coast.
