RICHMOND, Ind. - A 14-point halftime lead was more than enough to hold up for the Trine University men's basketball team as they easily defeated Earlham College 88-61 in the first day of the MIAA/HCAC Challenge. The victory improves the Thunder to 2-1 on the season.

It took the Thunder nearly two and a half minutes to score their first points of the game, as they trailed early on 12-4. Trine would take their first lead of the game at 18-17. The two sides would trade buckets before senior Ian Jackson (Indianapolis, Ind./Perry Meridian) put the Thunder up for good on a layup with 8:40 to play in the half, leading 20-19. Trine would build to their halftime lead, out-scoring the Quakers 20-7 in the final 8 minutes.

The Trine offense would continue to put the pressure on Earlham, pushing their lead to 20 with 10:45 remaining in the game as Jackson hit a pair of free throws followed by a three as the Quakers were never able to cut into the lead. The Thunder would lead by as much as 27 points in the second half.

Jackson led all scorers with 28 points on 11-of-16 shooting while dishing out five assists. Fellow senior Scott Rogers (Waterford, Mich./Kettering) threw down a season-high 19 points of 6-of-7 shooting from the floor and 7-of-8 from the free throw line. Rogers also pulled down a game-high six rebounds and four steals. Junior transfer Todd Watkins (Cincinnati, Ohio/St. Bernard) added in 12.

In all, nine different Trine players scored in the game as the Thunder shot a season-high 55.2 percent (32-of-58) from the floor. The Thunder forced 20 Earlham turnovers, turning them into 28 points while Trine committed just seven turnovers for the night.

Trine will go right back to action tomorrow, November 25, as they take on Manchester at 2:00 p.m. in the second day of the MIAA/HCAC Challenge.