Late Dunks Quiet Thunderhawks on 25th-Annual Ivanhoes #TUSilentNight

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UPLAND, Ind. – Friday night brought about the 25th-Annual Ivanhoes Silent Night Game, in which Taylor defeated Miami-Middletown by a 64-55 score to improve to 24-1 all-time on Silent Night.

The Trojans struggled to score early as the anticipation rose across the arena. Taylor shook the jitters away to grab a 9-8 lead with 13:40 left in the first half. Jason Hubbard then blocked a shot and came down with the rebound with eyes on the hoop. A towering dunk to bring the mania upon the court was denied by a foul that sent the senior to the charity stripe with the clock reading 13:05. Hubbard made the second attempt to bring about the pandemonium, marking Hubbard's first time scoring the 10th point in his fifth and final season for TU.

The crowd rained down onto the court and remained in a frenzy when they returned to their seats as Gavin Yoon scored a bucket that cemented a 10-0 run for the Trojans to take a 12-8 lead.

Miami-Middletown (5-5) did not let the momentum swing for too long and led 21-17 mere minutes later before a 7-0 run fueled by two buckets by Jackson Lewis and a three-pointer by Hubbard that Lewis assisted on gave the Trojans the lead once again.

TU extended its lead to seven before one of 22 Taylor turnovers led to a late bucket by the Thunderhawks and sent the teams to halftime with the Trojans leading by five.

Miami-Middletown quickly tied the game after the break, before Hubbard delivered two rim-racking dunks to pull Taylor ahead once again.

The game tilted back and forth for the next few minutes, with the Thunderhawks taking their first lead of the second half.

Three consecutive free throws after a bucket from Yoon gave TU a lead it would not relinquish.

Anton Webb threw down a vicious slam dunk with under a minute to play to finish the scoring and send the Trojan faithful on their way with a 64-55 victory.

Both teams struggled from behind the arc, with neither cracking 20 percent on a combined 38 attempts.

The Trojans (5-5, 1-3 CL) controlled the glass throughout the contest, with Hubbard pacing them with 13 rebounds while scoring a game-high 24 points as part of his third double-double this season. Lewis has another solid game for TU in picking up 10 points, eight boards, and five assists while adding two blocks and steals apiece.

Taylor will return to action on Saturday, December 10 at 3:00 pm, when it hosts No. 2 Grace (11-0, 4-0 CL) in Crossroads League play, following the TU women's team hosting RV Grace in a 1:00 pm start.