ROCHESTER HILLS, Mich. – Taylor used an 11-0 run late in the second half to come back and tie the game but ultimately fell short of delivering an upset on the road against RV Rochester (3-0), with the final score of 79-75.
The Trojans trailed 71-60 before an 11-0 fueled by six points from Anton Webb knotted the game at 71 with three and a half minutes remaining. The Warriors scored a bucket and forced a turnover before another layup pushed the lead to four with under 30 seconds remaining, which was too much for TU to overcome. Turnovers plagued TU the entire afternoon, coughing the ball up 16 times compared to just seven for RU.
Rochester had led most of the second frame by a bucket or two before stretching the lead to 12 off a three-pointer with six and a half minutes remaining.
The teams traded baskets throughout much of the first ten minutes of the second half, with Gavin Yoon hitting two triples early in the frame.
The first half was a close affair, with neither team leading by more than six. The game began with two three-pointers from Yoon and Kaden Fuhrmann, who had 14 points for TU.
After RU had taken the lead, Webb struck for seven straight Trojan points to retake the lead, which grew to six on a triple from Jackson Ullom. The lead slowly evaporated until it was tied at 29. Grant Niehaus hit a layup for two of his 11 points on just five shots to give Taylor the lead.
Webb led the Trojans with 19 points and 12 rebounds for his second double-double of the season, and his three right before halftime gave the Trojans a slim one-point advantage going into the break.
Caleb Hodgson had his highest-scoring game in purple and gray, tallying 13 points on an efficient eight shots, as the starters scored 62 points.
Taylor (2-2) will play back inside the friendly confines of Odle Arena on Tuesday, November 7, against Miami-Hamilton (0-0), with the matchup set to begin at 7:00 pm.
