MOUNT VERNON, Ohio. – A torrid first half was not enough for Taylor (10-8, 4-4 CL) to eclipse Mount Vernon Nazarene (10-7, 3-4 CL) in a 71-69 game on the road Wednesday night.
Jason Hubbard led the Trojans with 22 points and ten rebounds as he now stands just 14 points away from the program's All-Time scoring record. Jackson Lewis provided 14 points of his own while dishing out five assists and grabbing four boards and three steals.
The Cougars started hot, grabbing a 13-6 lead five minutes after the tip. That would be the largest lead of the day for either team in what turned out to be a tightly contested ballgame.
Taylor responded with ten straight points, which started and ended with Hubbard baskets, and saw Gavin Yoon and Anton Webb each splash in a triple.
The teams then traded baskets, which saw the score tied at 22, 25, 29, 32, 34, and 36, with neither team able to put together a run of more than six points.
Kaden Fuhrmann drained a three-pointer with 30 seconds remaining, which gave the Trojans a 46-44 advantage going into halftime. Hubbard scored 17 of his 22 points before the break, while Yoon collected all eight of his points off the bench in the first half.
Each team shot over 57 percent in the first half, with Mount Vernon splashing in a ridiculous 54.5 percent from beyond the arc.
The story changed for both teams after halftime, as neither squad shot above 36 percent during the second half, and the Cougars were unable to hit a single three-point shot.
Lewis was Taylor's source of offense in a tough second half, scoring nine of TU's first ten points coming out of the break, as it held onto a slim 56-55 advantage with just under thirteen minutes remaining.
The Cougars went on a 7-0 run that forced Taylor to call a timeout trailing by six.
Taylor fought its way back to within one after Hubbard buried another triple with just over six minutes left. The shooting went cold thereafter, as the Trojans did not make another shot from the field during the contest.
Six free throws and good defense kept TU close and provided them with an opportunity to tie or take the lead in the final seconds, but two three-point attempts went awry as the Trojans saw their two-game winning streak come to an end.
While the shooting percentages were similar, MVNU shot 25 free throws compared to just 12 from Taylor, as the charity stripe discrepancy was too much to overcome for the Trojans.
Taylor continues Crossroads League action back inside Odle Arena against Spring Arbor (8-10, 2-6 CL) on Saturday, January 14, with tip-off time set for 3:00 pm.
