PENSACOLA, Fla. – All season long, the Trevecca Nazarene University men's basketball team has been able to rely on production from a very deep bench. Sometimes, though, the biggest names have to be the ones who carry the load. Thursday night was one of those nights for the Trojans.
Jax Abernathy, Da'Shon Fisher, and Fred Bailey combined for 76 points in the game, as Trevecca (14-7, 9-6 GSC) battled their way past a tough opponent in the University of West Florida (17-6, 10-5 GSC) to an 81-79 victory.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trevecca opened the game on a 7-0 run, but as proved to be the theme on the night, the Argonauts answered right back. An 8-0 UWF run seemed to ignite the Argonauts, as they added a second 8-0 run to take a 16-11 lead with 13:06 left in the opening stanza, but the Trojans began relentlessly attacking the rim.
Five of the Trojans' next seven points came at the foul line, and Trevecca whittled the deficit down to two at 20-18. Six straight UWF points pushed their lead out to eight, but the Trojans continued to attack the rim, and as the Trojans drew closer on the scoreboard, they were also beginning to put UWF into some early foul trouble. That proved to be key as the night wore on.
Four Abernathy free throws as a part of a 6-point Trevecca run pushed the Trojans back in front at 34-33 with 3:25 left in the opening stanza, and moments later Jake Mulder converted a traditional 3-point play to push Trevecca's lead to 39-36. The points from Mulder proved to be the only three points the Trojans scored off the bench in the game that did not come from Fisher, and UWF scored the final three points of the opening half to send things to intermission all square at 39.
The Trojans scored first out of the break, but UWF took the lead at the 14:06 mark, and the Argonauts held the advantage for the next several minutes. Trevecca stayed close, though, and with 9:35 left, Fisher slashed to the rim and put the Trojans back in front with a layup. On the ensuing possession, UWF re-claimed the lead, but a pair of free throws from Bailey put Trevecca up 60-59 with 8:51 on the clock, and Trevecca did not trail again.
The Trojans never led by more than four points in the final nine minutes of the game, and the game was tied four times in that timespan, but each time, Trevecca scored to take the lead back. With things knotted at 78, Abernathy came free on a cut from the left wing, and he scored the layup with 26 seconds to go, and after an important missed free throw from the Argonauts, Bailey capped the game with a made free throw that gave the Trojans the 81-79 win.
THE TEAM
Both teams shot the ball well overall, and while the Trojans were outshot from deep, the game was decided at the foul line. Trevecca earned a whopping 33 free throw attempts in the game - making 23 of them (69.7%), while they allowed UWF to get to the charity stripe only 18 times, and the Argonauts made only eight foul shots. The Trojans made 26 of 55 (47.3%) shots, including a 6-for-16 (37.5%) showing from long range.
THE PLAYERS
Both Abernathy and Fisher posted season-high point totals. Abernathy led all scorers with 32 points, he was 10-for-16 from the floor, and he was 9-for-13 at the foul line in the game. Fisher tallied 27, he was 10-for-18 shooting, and he grabbed seven rebounds as well. Bailey added 17 points along with five boards, four assists and four steals. Jeremy Jackson, Jr. led Trevecca with eight rebounds as well. Jackson, Jr. and Mulder were the only Trojans besides Abernathy, Fisher, and Bailey to score.
UP NEXT
The Trojans will continue their road trip on Saturday at Valdosta State University (13-8, 8-7 GSC) with tip-off slated for 4 p.m. The trip will eventually also feature games at Auburn University-Montgomery (5-16, 3-12 GSC) on February 11, and Lee University (10-10, 7-9 GSC) on February 14.
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