Comeback Bid Falls Short for TU Men in Opener
GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – A sluggish first 12-plus minutes of action put Taylor in a 21-point deficit at Aquinas on Tuesday and the Trojans could not quite overcome that margin in a 66-63 loss to open the 2021-2022 season.
It was a nightmarish start for the Trojans, who turned the ball over nine times and made just two field goals in the opening 12:26 of game action while falling into a 28-7 hole with 7:34 left in the first half.
TU came to life from there with seven-straight points from Jason Hubbard and a 6-0 stretch to close the half brought Taylor within 31-22 at the break.
Taylor narrowed the margin to eight points on multiple instances throughout the second half but did not mount a serious charge until a barrage of three-pointers off the hands of Kaden Fuhrmann served to rapidly shrink the Aquinas (1-0) lead.
Back-to-back-to-back triples from Fuhrmann, Aaron Hahn and Fuhrmann closed the gap to 62-55, before a transition three from Fuhrmann brought TU within 62-58. Fuhrmann dialed it up once more, this time sinking a pull-up fastbreak trey to make it 64-61 with 1:09 remaining.
Taylor found a defensive stop on the opposing end but a potential game-tying three-point shot was blocked and Aquinas held on for the 66-63 victory.
Fuhrmann ended the night nine-of-21 from the floor and five-of-13 from deep for a career-high 25 points. The sophomore added three rebounds and two assists.
Hubbard began his senior season with a 19-point, 12-rebound, two-block double-double and Hahn posted career-highs with 11 rebounds and three assists. Jackson Lewis shined in his collegiate debut, going three-of-four from the field and ending with six points, six assists, one steal and just one turnover in 34 minutes.
Taylor rallied to end the game at 42.9 percent from the floor and 38.1 percent from beyond the arc. TU also won the battle of the glass by three but committed 10 more turnovers than Aquinas and was minus-13 in points off miscues and minus-16 in points in the paint.
TU (0-1) will look to bounce back over the weekend with games at Indiana Northwest (0-0) on Friday, October 29 and at Governors State (1-1) on Saturday, October 30. Both games are set for 4:00 pm (ET) starts.
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