ANGOLA, IN - The Trine University men's basketball team fell on the losing end of a 69-62 decision against Adrian (Mich.) College in a Michigan Intercollegiate Athletic Association game at the MTI Center in Angola, Ind.

Trine (13-8, 7-3 MIAA) struggled from the field in the first half as the Thunder shot just 25.8 percent (eight-of-31) from the field, including 11.1 percent (one-of-nine) from three point range. Despite the unfriendly rim, the Thunder only trailed by five points at the half and had an early two-point lead, 4-2, in the early minutes of the game.

Adrian (11-10, 5-5 MIAA) then went on a 17-4 scoring run to take the lead which grew to 11 points, 19-8, at the 12:07 mark. A couple of Trine possessions later, a three-point play by senior Marcus Winters (Toledo, Ohio/Central Catholic) started a 9-0 run that pulled the Thunder back to within two points, 19-17, with a little under six minutes to go in the half.

After a two minute scoring drought by both teams, Adrian extended the lead back to five points with a three-point play of its own and made it a 22-17 game. Following another lengthy period of no points by either team, sophomore Bryce Williams (Archbold, Ohio/Archbold) connected on a triple to cut the deficit back to two points, but the Bulldogs got the final points of the half on a three-pointer to increase the margin to 25-20 at the break.

The second half saw Trine shoot 50.0 percent (13-of-26) from the floor and also improved its long range shooting with a 46.2 percentage (six-of-13). The Bulldog lead, however, increased to seven points in the early stages and then hit double digits with 11:17 to go by a score of 45-35. Trine would make it a five-point game, 52-47, after another three-pointer by Williams when Adrian scored seven straight points to extend its lead back to double figures with its largest lead of the game of 12 points, 59-47, with 4:34 remaining.

Trine made a late push and outscored Adrian, 10-4, in the next 3:40 to make it a six-point game, 63-57, with under a minute left. Adrian then put the game away by connecting on all six of its free-throw attempts in the final 54 seconds to go en route to the 69-62 final.

Winters was one of three players for Trine to score in double figures with a team-best 16 points on five-of-seven shooting (71.4 percent) and was five-of-five at the free-throw line. He also grabbed a team-best seven rebounds and a game-high five assists. Williams was second in scoring with all his points coming from behind the arc on five-of-10 shooting (50.0 percent) for 15 points.

Senior Langston Johnson (Elkhart, Ind./Elkhart Central) rounded out the high scorers with 11 points.

Trine will host Calvin (Mich.) College on Wednesday, Feb. 12 at the MTI Center in a MIAA contest. The two teams are set to tip-off at 7:30 p.m.