By Will Fairfax
With the score tied at 7-7, Taylor went on a 34-15 run to enter halftime with a 41-23 lead.
The Trojans open the second half with an 18-2 run that put the game away.
"We played harder than they played and it affected their ability to execute their offense," said Head Coach Paul Patterson. "We had a lot of guys who played really unselfishly and (did) the things we try to do defensively. We had a lot of pressure on them, and they had to make more plays than they were able."
Patterson was impressed with how Coons and senior Tommy Peller fed off one another and opened up quality shots for one another and their teammates. Senior Nate Kasper was also instrumental in the Trojans' victory.
"It was great to see Nate Kasper come alive in the second half," Patterson said. "He guarded their post man and shut him out and scored some on his own."
IU Kokomo's post Joby Renbarger finished with only two points in the second half, after scoring 10 points in the first half.
Coons was the leading scorer in the game with 23 points and six 3-pointers. Kasper finished second overall in scoring with 19 points, followed by Peller with 11 points.
The senior trio finished with 53 of Taylor's 69 points.
"My teammates did an awesome job of setting me up," Coons said. "Every shot I had was off a good screen or a good look or both . . . , we did a great job of moving the ball. Nate was great inside, and they had to respect that, and then we did a great job of just swinging it around and getting an open look."
Peller and sophomore Ian Dutcher led the team with six rebounds, followed by Kasper who snatched five. Junior Ben Raichel dictated the Trojan's offense with five assists.
Taylor shot 54 percent from the floor and 44 percent from beyond the arc. The Trojans were also strong defensively, limiting the Cougars to just 31 percent from the field and 23 percent from beyond the arc.
Despite the lopsided victory, Patterson is not complacent, noting that his team can always improve.
"We have to be more consistent throughout the game," Patterson said. "I thought that we let up sometimes. We really need to play our scouting report better. There are some things that we knew we needed to do and we didn't get done and it's early in the season, but we need to get better in that part of the game."
Coons echoed his coach's sentiment that there are still several areas where his team can improve.
"We're always trying to get better every day," Coons said. "Offensively and defensively we have a lot of things that we need to get better at still. We gave up some looks in the first half that we can improve on and in the second half taking care of the ball a little bit more."
The Trojans hope to improve on their 3-2 record when they play Daemen College Nov. 16 at 7 p.m. in Odle Arena.
