By Jeff Yoder
The men's basketball fought the Grace Lancers until the final buzzer on Saturday as the Trojans suffered a 69-63 loss in Winona Lake, Ind.
The Trojans weather two storms by the Lancers in the second half as seniors Nate Kasper and Casey Coons followed up Grace scoring runs by making some big shots.
The Trojans climbed back from a 52-43 deficit in the second half to bring the game within three at 60-57 just under two minutes to play. Grace free throws and a few costly Taylor turnovers handed the Lancers the game in the end.
Kasper led the Trojans in scoring with 19 while Coons contributed 16 and Tommy Peller added 14. Taylor shot just 8-of-25 (32 percent) from the floor in the first half but didn't turn the ball over once.
After the loss, conference foe Bethel pulled a miraculous nine-point comeback in the final minute to beat Marian and force Taylor into the 5th seed in conference. Being the 5th seed rather than the 4th means the Trojans will not receive home court advantage against Spring Arbor.
The Trojans and Cougars split their meetings this year with a Taylor victory on Jan. 15 and a Cougar win on Feb. 5 in Odle Arena. The Trojans will play at 7:00 pm on Wednesday at Spring Arbor.
