By Jordan Miller
The Taylor Men's basketball team won their second straight game in the Crossroads League as they beat Mount Vernon Nazarene away 61-48 on Tuesday night. A hard-fought defense propelled Taylor in the second half to deliver the victory, giving the team a 5-3, 2-0 record this season. Mount Vernon battled Taylor in a tight opening half. The Trojans held the lead at the end of the half by a 32-28 margin. The team was on target as they shot for 45.8 percent in the opening half. The Trojans drained seven of eight buckets from the free throw line, while the Cougars hit five of seven. Both teams connected well from beyond the arc in the first half. Taylor neared 50 percent from the three-point line and hit three of their seven attempts. Mount Vernon shot an impressive 75 percent as they hit three of four from beyond the arc. A tough Trojan defense spelled trouble for the Cougars. The team interrupted the Cougars' offense, limiting Mount Vernon to 8 of 26 and a 30.7 percent average. The Trojans completely shut down the Cougars' three-point game in the second half, holding them at zero for seven. Taylor also managed to score an impressive 23 points off turnovers. Both offenses proved nearly even in the paint. Taylor scored 16 points in the paint and Mount Vernon hit 14 points. "I thought we played 40 minutes as competitively as we could," said Head Coach Paul Patterson. "I don't think we shot real well. We struggled on some offensive things, but we competed really hard defensively; we really affected them and didn't let them get started. When we got settled down offensively, we played pretty well." As the game continued, the Trojans relied on teamwork to put them ahead of the Cougars. "The star of the team was the team itself," Patterson said. "It wasn't like one guy just came out there and had his best night; instead we were strong as a team." Key contributors from the bench helped the Trojans take home the victory. "We had about nine guys who played and were really important in the game," Patterson said. "But it doesn't matter who is scoring just as long as points are being put on the board. Most importantly, we've got to stop them. We really stressed that with the teamwork of our defense and last night it paid off." The team looks for their third straight Crossroads League win as they travel to play Bethel at 3 p.m. tomorrow.
