GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The #18 Trine University Men's Basketball team fell to Hope in Friday evening's MIAA Semifinal, 64-62.
Drew Moore scored 14 to lead the Thunder. Trine is 21-5 and will await their NCAA Tournament fate on Monday afternoon. Hope advances to take on Calvin in the MIAA Championship game tomorrow night.
Three Thunder scored in double figures, but it wasn't enough get past the Dutch. The game was tied 12 times and featured 17 more lead changes as neither team led by more than six.
MIAA first teamer,
Emmanuel Megnanglo got Trine started and fellow first teamer
Drew Moore added the next bucket. A Dutch three gave Hope the lead for the first time. Trine scored three on their next three possessions with
Nate Tucker, Megnanglo, and
Jayce Cusack all connecting. Trine led 15-13 with 13:17 left. Defense was the name of the game for the next four minutes, Trine outscored Hope 5-4 over the frame, Trine kept the Dutch off the board with offensive rebounds leading to Trine controlling the ball for nearly three of the four minutes. Hope used a 10-4 run to turn a three point deficit into a three point lead over the final 4:50 and take a 36-33 lead to the locker room.
Trine quickly erased the lead to open the half, Cusack sunk a pair of free throws and Megnanglo sunk a two handed fast break dunk to dash the Hope lead. Hope would respond and take the largest lead of the night at 45-39. Trine answered back with 6 of their own to level the score. Defense turned to offense when a Megnanglo swat gave
Jayce Cusack a fastbreak opportunity, he connected to cut the deficit to two and
Grant Pahl scored on the next possession to tie things up. A Pahl triple with 11:00 to go gave Trine a three point lead. Offense was again at a premium over the next six and a half minutes. Trine limited Hope to one shot on five possession and Moore blocked a shot to punctuate the defensive stand. Trine held their biggest lead of the night with 4:10 to play after a
Cam Smith lay in at 58-53. Hope scored the next seven to retake the lead, Pahl provided Trine their final lead of the night with 1:31 to play, however, it was only the 16
th lead change. Hope scored the final four to secure their spot in the MIAA Championship Game.
Trine will wait until Monday at 12:00 to see if they can earn an at-large bid to the NCAA Tournament.
