TU Men Drop Shootout with Red Storm

RIO GRANDE, Ohio – Taylor reached the 80-point barrier for a third-straight game for the first time since 2003, but it was not enough to overcome an undefeated Rio Grande team, as the Trojans fell to the Red Storm, 89-80, on Saturday evening.

The Red Storm caught fire in the second half, hitting 17-of-21 field goals in the final 20 minutes of action to erase a 36-35 Taylor lead at the break and build a lead as high as 14 midway through the final period.

Rio Grande, who received votes in the NAIA Top-25 Preseason Poll, pushed the tempo aggressively against the Taylor defense after the intermission. The Storm repeatedly gained easy looks in the paint after beating TU back in transition and connecting on successful entry lob passes in the half-court offense.

Taylor did not back down from Rio Grande (5-0), hanging with the Storm and using a three from Jesse Coffey and a layup by Tim Fleming to cap a 16-4 Trojans surge and narrow the deficit to 67-65 with 6:30 to play.

That would be as close as TU could get however, as the host squad went back inside for scores on the next three possessions, including a pair of three-point plays, to open the lead back to 75-68.

Taylor could not respond in the closing minutes, ultimately falling by the 89-80 margin.

Coffey was named to the Rio Grande All-Tournament Team, after scoring 16 points on five-of-nine shooting. Kyle Stidom, Keaton Hendricks and Shakir Dunning joined Coffey in double figures, as Stidom netted 17 points with seven rebounds and three assists, while Hendricks added 16 points, four boards and three helpers and Dunning ended with 10 points.

Taylor (3-2) will return to Odle Arena to host Ohio State-Newark on Friday, November 21 in a 7:00 pm tip.