By Bryce Marsee
The No. 5 Taylor men's basketball team opened the Crossroads League Tournament with a 70-62 win over No. 4 seed Spring Arbor Wednesday night. The senior trio of Nate Kasper, Tommy Peller and Casey Coons was too much for the Cougars as the three combined for 65 of the Trojans' 70 points.
Kasper led the Trojan offense in the first half, scoring 18 of his game-high 26 points in the first 20 minutes of regulation. The center also recorded four rebounds and a block before the intermission.
"We knew we had an advantage in the post," said Head Coach Paul Patterson. "We did a good job of finding Kasper down low, which really helped our team out."Spring Arbor had no answer for Kasper in the first six minutes of the game as the senior scored eight of the Trojans' first 10 points. The Cougars, however, managed to keep pace with the Trojans, thanks to a hot hand by Rob Hogans.
Down three with 7:14 remaining in the half, Taylor sparked an 11-2 run, capped off with a 3-pointer by Peller, which put them in the driver's seat the remainder of the game as Spring Arbor could not regain a lead.
Coming out of the half with a 33-30 lead, the Trojans went to Peller and Coons for scoring. After being held to two first-half points, Coons found his shot, scoring 15 points on a perfect 4-of-4 from the floor (3-of-3 from 3-point line) and knocking down all four of his second-half free throws.
Spring Arbor didn't go down quietly. Down 32-38, the Cougars put together a 12-6 run to tie the game at 44 apiece. The Trojans responded on a 22-12 run over the next seven and a half minutes to take a 66-56 lead with 1:13 remaining in the game.
Taylor maintained their lead, thanks to 66.7 percent shooting (12-of-18) in the second half, while holding Spring Arbor to just 30 percent (9-of-30).
Scoring 22 of the 65 points, Peller also pulled down seven rebounds while dishing out seven assists. Kasper recorded a team-high eight rebounds to go along with one block.
With the win Taylor, moves to 20-11 on the season and is just one win shy from their most wins in seven years.
Taylor will play in the Crossroads League semifinals on Saturday when they host No. 8 seed Huntington at Odle Arena. The Foresters upset the top-seeded Indiana Wesleyan 81-69 Wednesday night. Tip-off for the game is scheduled for 3:00 p.m.
"I think this game really helped us get our legs underneath of us," Patterson said. "But we know that Huntington is going to be fired up, so we will have to play well."
The Trojans split with the Foresters in the teams' two regular season games. Taylor defeated Huntington 70-44 inside Odle Arena on Jan. 12 but fell to the Foresters on the road 59-63 on Feb. 9.
