GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Austin Peters' era began for the Taylor men's basketball program on Friday, with an 84-74 win against La Sierra (0-1) fueled by 16 three-pointers.
Six players hit a three for TU, with five hitting two or more. Five players reached double-figure points, with Chaz Harvey and Nate Paarlberg tied for the team lead at 17. The 17 points are a career-high for Paarlberg. Anton Webb led the Trojans with 16 rebounds as the team controlled the glass to the tune of a 42-25 advantage.
Taylor got off to a hot start, leading 15-2, after less than five minutes of action when Kaden Fuhrmann sank the team's fourth triple of the contest, made by four separate players.
The Trojans continued to hold a comfortable lead throughout the first half, controlling the glass with a commanding 18-11 advantage highlighted by seven offensive rebounds compared to just one for La Sierra.
The Eagles started to chip into the lead and eventually got to within one with under a minute left before Paarlberg nailed his fourth three of the half to give TU a 38-34 lead at the break.
La Sierra came out of the break and tied up the game at 38, and the teams battled in a tight contest the rest of the way.
The Eagles grabbed their first lead of the game at 44-43 off a pair of free throws, but Taylor stormed back with a 9-2 run to regain the lead, capped by a three-pointer by Kobe Funderburk, who nailed four in his Trojan debut.
A 7-0 run from La Sierra gave them their second and ultimately final lead at 53-52 before Funderburk hit another triple to regain the lead for TU (1-0).
The lead for the Trojans remained four or fewer until Jackson Ullom buried a shot from beyond the arc for a 68-62 lead with under eight minutes remaining.
Both offenses struggled to find the bottom of the net for the next couple of minutes, with Taylor emerging from the offense slump ahead 72-69.
Free Throws down the stretch extended the Trojans' lead, with Harvey and Paarlberg each hitting four from the charity stripe in the final minutes of the contest.
The Trojans continue the season with a matchup against Justice College on Saturday, October 26th, to cap their time in Arizona, with tip-off set for 7:30 pm.
