ANGOLA, Ind. – A record-breaking day for Emmanuel Megnanglo helped secure a 75-57 victory over the Illinois Institute of Technology for the #4 Trine University men's basketball team.

Megnanglo threw his own block party in the game, breaking the program's single game record. In fact, he broke the record in just the first half, recording eight blocks in the first 20 minutes of play to break the old record of seven which he shared with Scott Rogers. He finished the game with 11 blocks to go along with 14 points, nine rebounds and a pair of steals. It is just the third double-double of his career, and missed out on being the first triple-double by just one rebound.

The Thunder reached a double-digit lead in the midst of a 9-0 run in the middle portion of the first half. After a response by the Scarlett Hawks that saw them cut the lead to seven, Drew Moore responded with a three-point shot. Megnanglo blocked three straight shot attempts to keep the score the same before Jayce Cusack hit another three to give the team their largest lead of the half at 29-16.

Late in the half Illinois Tech erased the lead with a 10-0 run that gave them their first lead of the day at 33-31. Trine still took a lead into the half after reaching the charity stripe twice for the final four points of the half. The score was 35-33 in favor of the Thunder.

After the Scarlett Hawks scored the first point of the second half, Trine scored the next ten to build an 11 point lead at 45-34. Megnanglo and Nate Tucker each scored five during the 10-0 run. Illinois Tech cut the lead back to eight with just over seven minutes remaining in the half. The Thunder responded with a 12-0 run to make the score 73-53. Moore accounted for six of those points.

The game eventually went final at 75-57 after the backups saw lots of play over the final minutes of the contest.
Moore led the team 21 points with Megnanglo coming in second with 14. Tucker finished with 13 points and Cusack came in with 12. Aidan Smylie led the way with five assists.

The Thunder improve to 10-1 overall after the first win of 2025. The team will begin Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association (MIAA) play when they host Kalamazoo College on Wednesday, January 8. Opening tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m.