Trojan News

NASHVILLE, Tenn. - The Trojan men's basketball team (11-6, 3-1 TranSouth) saw its three-game winning streak come to an end with a 70-62 lass to #RV Cumberland University (12-3, 4-0) Saturday afternoon at the Trojan Fieldhouse.

"A tough loss to a very good team," said Head Coach Sam Harris. "Give Cumberland credit, they were very physical and they were the better team today. They may be playing as good as anyone in the conference right now. They and Martin Methodist have to be considered the teams to beat now."

Cumberland jumped out to a 17-6 lead with 10:47 left in the opening half, taking the Trojan Fieldhouse crowd out of the game early.

"We fell behind early, and it's difficult to have to climb out of a hole like that, especially against a good team," added Harris. "They did a good job of jumping on top right at the start and making things tough for us."

The Bulldogs stretched their lead to as many as 13 points (21-8) before JP Nyadaro's bucket started an 11-2 Trojan run to cut the deficit to 23-19 with 4:49 left in the half. Cumberland responded, however, finishing the half with an 11-3 spurt to take a 34-22 lead at the half.

Cumberland picked up where it left off in the first half, pushing the advantage to 38-23 with 18:37 to play in the game. But Trevecca mounted a challenge, outscoring the Bulldogs 14-3 over the next 3:03 to pull within 41-37 with 15:34 left. Unfortunately, the Trojans would not get any closer, with the Bulldogs extending the lead back to double digits on several occasions the rest of the way before settling for the eight-point victory.

"I thought we did a good job of coming back there right after halftime," added Coach Harris. "But all night long, we just missed too many easy opportunities close to the basket, and you've got to take advantage of those if you're going to put yourself in position to win."

Marquise Rudolph led three Trojans in double figures with 20 points. Eric Orr added 16 points and nine rebounds, and Michael France added 12 points and six rebounds. Cumberland's Lamar Brinkley led all scorers with 21 points and added 11 rebounds.

The Trojans shot 38% (23-60) from the floor, 27% (4-15) from beyond the arc, and 67% (12-18) from the free throw line. Cumberland shot 49% (27-55) from the field, 38% (5-13) from three-point range, and 61% (11-18) from the charity stripe. The Bulldogs finished with a 41-33 rebounding advantage, but committed 16 turnovers, compared to just 11 for Trevecca.

"Obviously I'm disappointed with the loss, but they're an excellent team," added Coach Harris. "We've got to bounce right back, though, because we've got a good Freed-Hardeman team coming in here in about 48 hours."

The Trojans will host No. 18 Freed-Hardeman (11-6, 1-2) Monday night at 8 p.m. The Lions dropped an 84-83 decision to Union Saturday afternoon.