Trojans Drop League Opener to No. 14 Marian

UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor never led in an 88-68 loss to No. 14 Marian on Tuesday in the Crossroads League opener for both squads, as TU's home shooting struggles from the perimeter continued.

The Knights (6-1, 1-0 CL) used a 13-4 spurt to build a 23-12 cushion and later scored eight-straight after Taylor had drawn within 31-27. Marian was never threatened again from there, taking a 13-point spread to the break and drilling eight of its first 12 looks from three-point range in the second half to pull away.

MU shot 55.4 percent from the field in the contest and ended with nine triples, while outscoring Taylor by a 41-3 margin off the bench.

Taylor once again could not find the range from deep on Paul Patterson Court, making just three-of-22 attempts from distance. The shooting woes extend to TU's last three home affairs, where it is just 16-of-77 from three-point range for a 20.8-percent clip in the three defeats.

Ryan Robinson and Mason Degenkolb each scored 15 points to lead the Purple and Gold, as Degenkolb climbed two more spots on TU's all-time scoring charts to No. 20 with 1,489.

CJ Penha continued his strong play, making all six of his shot attempts from inside the arc and closing with 14 points and eight boards, while Jason Hubbard shot five-of-six from the field and closed with 13 points, nine boards, one block and one steal.

Taylor (5-3, 0-1 CL) will return to play in one week, when it hosts Grace (5-3, 1-0 CL) on December 3 at 7:00 pm.