INDIANAPOLIS – Taylor (7-2, 2-1 CL) controlled the extra five minutes of action on Wednesday night en route to a 91-83 victory over the Knights on the road.
The Crossroads League foes traded baskets to begin overtime, but Taylor quickly took control on an 8-1 run in which Anton Webb hit a pair of free throws, blocked a shot, and assisted Chaz Harvey's clutch triple to give TU an 84-77 lead. The Trojans ran clock to perfection the rest of the way and played great defense to close the book on an 11-game losing streak to the Knights.
Webb was phenomenal in the contest, recording another double-double with 24 points, 17 rebounds, and six assists. The senior has been the fulcrum to TU's terrific start to the season, leading the team in points, rebounds, steals, and blocks, with averages of 13.6, 12.1, 1.9, and 1.0 this year.
Four more Trojans finished in double figures, Kaden Fuhrmann and Nate Paarlberg lit things up from long range with 17 and 16 points on a combined eight triples, while Pete Combs continued his efficient season with 11 points off the bench. The final Trojan to surpass ten points was Harvey, who came close to a triple-double with 12 points, nine assists, and seven rebounds, as he ran the offense effectively all night.
After a slow start for both teams in the first five minutes, the Trojans tallied nine straight points, including Webb with four of his team-high ten first-half points. The run was met by a run from the Knights to get within one.
The squads traded buckets throughout the rest of the half, as TU struggled to capitalize from the charity stripe, making just six of twelve attempts before halftime, allowing Marian (5-4, 0-3 CL) to hold a slim 37-36 lead going into the break.
Quickly after halftime, the Knights pushed the lead to six before the beginning of a three-point barrage from Taylor. Five straight triples, including three off the hand of Paarlberg, sparked a 21-4 run to match TU's largest lead of the evening at 57-47.
The squads went eight combined possessions without a point until Marian hit a pair of shots from beyond the arc to cut the lead to four. Taylor answered every basket but could not pull away, with Marian scoring the final three points of regulation, including a free throw with 6.9 seconds left to force overtime.
Taylor is back in action for its 27th-Annual Ivanhoes Silent Night game on Friday, December 6, against Moody Bible Institute (2-6). Tip-off is set for 6:00 pm, with students entering at 4:30 pm and a pre-game show beginning at 5:15, all of which can be viewed at YouTube.com/TaylorAthletics.
