MOUNT VERNON, Ohio – Anton Webb collected his 1,000th point during his third season, but the Trojans' offense sputtered late in a tight 76-71 defeat against MVNU.
Webb has been terrific since transferring to Taylor and became the 48th player in program history to surpass 1,000 points. The standout senior hit the milestone on the last bucket of the first half for TU as part of 11 first-half points.
The big man totaled 16 points and eight rebounds on an efficient 7-10 from the field while adding two assists and a steal and block apiece.
Taylor got off to a hot start courtesy of Jackson Ullom, who splashed home a trio of triples and scored 11 of the team's first 15 points, leading TU to an early 15-5 advantage. Ullom continued to stay hot and made eight of ten attempts from the field, including six from beyond the arc for a career-high 22 points.
The big lead continued to be cut into throughout the half until it disappeared completely, and the Trojans were in a dogfight thereafter.
A back-and-forth contest swung in Mount Vernon Nazarene's favor midway through the second half when the Cougars went on an 11-0 run to take their largest lead of the night at 66-58.
Taylor kept its cool and slowly worked its way back into the contest and retook the lead on an Ullom triple on a terrific pass from Webb after being doubled in the post.
MVNU (12-9, 4-7 CL) grabbed the lead back on the next possession before a flurry of turnovers from both squads kept the deficit at one until the final seconds.
The Trojans were unable to convert, and the Cougars hit key free throws to maintain their late lead in a frustrating defeat in Crossroads League action.
The offense was efficient, making 56 percent of shots from the field including 40.9 percent from three-point land, but turned it over four more times than MVNU and made four less free throws, which proved to be the difference in a close game.
Taylor (11-10, 4-7 CL) heads back to Odle Arena to face off with Marian (10-11, 4-7 CL) on Saturday, February 1, with tip-off scheduled for 3:00 pm.
