Bryce Marsee | Echo
The Taylor men's basketball season came to an end at the hands of Indiana Wesleyan Wednesday night. The Wildcats beat the Trojans 79-68 in the opening round of the Crossroads League Tournament as Taylor finished the season with a record of 11-19 in head coach Josh Andrews' inaugural season.
"Overall, our guys competed hard and executed our game plan," Andrews said.
The Trojans kept pace with the No. 6 ranked Wildcats in the early going thanks to a balanced offensive attack. Taylor threw the first punch of the game when junior Darayl Jordan scored the opening basket of the contest. Three more Trojans joined the scoring column over the next nine minutes of the game, keeping the score within reach at 15-14 in favor of IWU.
The Wildcats managed the first run of the game, scoring seven points over the next two minutes of the game. Down 22-14, the Trojans controlled the following two minutes, sparking a 7-0 run of their own to bring the score within one. The Wildcats, however, finished the half on a 19-3 run to take a 41-24 lead into the intermission.
"We had several breakdowns defensively and several costly turnovers that led to lapses," Andrews said. "We had to avoid a stretch like that to stay in a great game."
The second half began much like the first as the two teams traded baskets early on. Sophomore Kyle Stidom led the Taylor offense over the first 10 minutes of the half, scoring 10 of the Trojans' 19 points during that time. Although Taylor outscored the Wildcats 48-39 in the second half, the Trojans never managed to pull within single digits.
Stidom ended with a game-high 26 points, finishing 13-for-15 from the free-throw line and also pulling down a team high six rebounds. Senior Ben Raichel and junior Jesse Coffey each chipped in 10 points while Jordan added five rebounds.
The game marked the final contest for the senior duo of Josh Riikonen and Ben Raichel. Over their four years, the two combined scored 1,618 points. Raichel recorded most of his scoring from behind the arc, tallying 165 career three-pointers, while Riikonen did much of his work down low, recording 601 career rebounds. The pair finished their Taylor careers with an overall record of 77-57.
"Josh and Ben are great young men and accepted well the assignment of playing for a new coach in their senior years," Andrews said. "They both will have influence outside of TU and will make a difference in the lives of others. They will certainly be missed next season."
"It's been a blessing to be part of such a great program," Raichel said. "It was a great opportunity to be able to play with a great group of guys over these past four years."
Photography by Timothy P. Riethmiller
