CLEVELAND, Tenn. – The Trevecca Nazarene University men's basketball team headed to the southeast corner of Tennessee with an opportunity to clinch their spot in the upcoming GSC Championship tournament. The Trojans needed a win over Lee, or help from two other GSC foes, in order to accomplish that goal, and while the Trojans did clinch the spot, they were unable to take the win on the road.
Trevecca (15-9, 10-8 GSC) led at the break, and they got to the foul line a ton in the second half, but they were unable to hold down Lee (11-11, 8-10 GSC) as the Flames rallied to take the 72-68 win to split the season series.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Trojans took an early 8-4 lead as
Jax Abernathy got off to a hot start with six points in the first four minutes of play. With 13:24 to play in the opening half,
Tyler Moore connected from long distance, and that pushed the Trevecca lead to eight at 16-8.
Lee rallied to cut the Trojans' advantage to one at 18-17, but with 10:39 to play,
Fred Bailey slashed to the bucket and scored, and that set off an 11-0 Trevecca run that put the Trojans up 10, 29-19, with 6:50 to go in the opening half. Lee was able to close the gap in the final moments of the stanza, though, and at the break, Trevecca led, but only by three, 36-33.
Trevecca needed nearly five minutes to get their first points of the second half, as Lee opened the second frame on a 7-0 run. The Trojans remained close, though, as the Flames did not lead by more than four points early on in the half, and with 11:16 to play, Jeremy Jackson, Jr. knocked down a jumper to knot the score at 47. Again Lee built a four point lead, and again Trevecca battled back to get even, this time on a jumper from Abernathy in the paint that tied things up at 55. The Flames pushed their lead to seven late in the game, but Trevecca summoned one final charge.
With 3:16 to play,
Da'Shon Fisher knocked down a fade away jumper to cut the deficit to five, and on the Trojans next possession, Bailey sunk a pair of free throws to pull the Trojans within three at 67-64. Another stop let to more free throws - this time from Abernathy - that got the Trojans within one at 67-66, but a missed assignment led to a wide open back door cut that the Flames converted into a dunk with 89 seconds to play.
Abernathy made two more free throws on the Trojans next trip, and after a missed 3-pointer, Trevecca had the ball with a chance to take the lead. Bailey had three shots in the paint to reclaim the lead, but a physical defense from Lee held the line, and the Trojans fell, 72-68.
Losses from Union University and Delta State University on Saturday still locked the Trojans into the GSC Tournament Field. With four games to go in the GSC schedule, the Trojans are currently sixth, one game behind Valdosta State, two and a half games behind Alabama-Huntsville, and three game behind West Florida.
THE TEAM
Saturday's game was a tale of two halves for the Trojans. Trevecca made 14 of 25 (56%) shots in the first half, including making three of their four 3-point attempts, but after the break, the Trojans shot just 32.1% (9-28) and only 20% (2-10) from deep. Trevecca stayed in the game at the foul line where they were an impressive 12-for-12 in the second stanza. For the game, Trevecca was 43.4% from the floor, and 35.7% from long distance. The Trojans were an impressive 17-for-18 (94.4%) from the line in the game.
THE PLAYERS
Abernathy led all scorers in the game with 27 points. He was 7-for-10 from the floor, 2-for-4 from behind the 3-point line, and 11-for-12 from the foul line. Bailey added 10 points and he reeled in a team-high nine rebounds. Bailey also dished out four assists to lead the Trojans.
UP NEXT
Trevecca returns home to play their final two home games of the regular season on Thursday, February 19, and Saturday, February 21. Trevecca will welcome the Mississippi College Choctaws (10-15, 7-12 GSC) to the Trojan Fieldhouse on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., and on Saturday, Trevecca will host Delta State University (9-15, 6-13 GSC) for Senior Day at 4 p.m.
