Men’s Basketball Comes Up Short  (12/7/07)
Playing on a neutral court at Saint Xavier University, the Trolls came up a few points short of a victory against Madonna University (MI). The team was close at half-time, but fell behind in the second period for the 72-79 loss. They are now 6-5 for the season.
 
Despite Madonna’s .571 field goal percentage in the first half, the Trolls remained close throughout the period. They were helped in a big way by hitting six of their nine three-point attempts, scoring nearly have of their points in the period from long-range.
 
After giving up the early lead the Trolls came back and took the top spot. With less than four minutes to play in the period the score was tied for the fourth time. In the next two minutes Madonna went ahead by six points, but the Trolls cut that to four at the intermission, 39-43.
 
Five minutes into the second period the Trolls ran into a snag as they committed a series of turnovers and fouls. That allowed Madonna to post a 10-0 run and take a 15 point lead. From there the Trolls used their energy to get back into the game. They got as close as eight points a number of times, but could not close the gap completely. The free throw line became a factor as Madonna scored eight more points from that line than the Trolls did that half.
 
The team did a better job of controlling Madonna’s offensive in the second period, holding them to only 37% for that half. Meanwhile Trinity shot 44.3% overall and ended with game at 9 for 19 from the arc. Kurt Gruppen led the team with 23 points. Will Bruinsma chipped in 16 points and Ebiowei Porbeni and Kyle Lasek had 10 each. Jonathan Huizinga led the team in rebounding with eight while Michael Thompson had six assists.
 
The Trolls play next on December 15 at Calvin College (MI) at 3:00 pm est.

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