Day and Combs Lead New-Look Trojans to Season-Opening Victory

Elgin, Ill. – A Taylor squad filled with new faces was led by of a pair of returners, Izaiah Day and Pete Combs, in a resounding opening night victory over Judson (0-1), 87-61.

The junior duo scored 18 apiece, which led all scorers. Day knocked down a game-high four triples and was hot right off the tip, while Combs shot an efficient 7-11 from the field and grabbed eight rebounds in a solid display.

TU had an incredible start, taking a 12-0 lead and extending the advantage to 21-2 in the first eight minutes of Action. Day led the early charge on the offensive end with 13 points as the defense forced Judson into missing eight of its first nine shots and four quick turnovers.

The Eagles slowly got into the game and eventually cut the lead to four at 27-23 with a pair of 8-0 runs broken up by a trio of layups by Combs.

The Trojans regained control as the decisive ball movement led to open shots as TU took a 45-33 advantage into halftime. Day notched four of his six helpers in the final seven minutes of the opening half as the catalyst for the TU offense.

Judson hit a trio of buckets early in the second to trim the lead to seven before TU's depth showed up and showed out with six players scoring in a decisive 15-2 run to push the lead to 20.

Taylor continued to use its superior size down low, outrebounding the Eagles 49-29 and using that advantage to produce 18 second-chance points compared to three for Judson.

The free-flowing offense notched 23 assists on 31 buckets, as freshman Carson Gould dished out six assists to match Day. Nathan Baker had a terrific collegiate debut with 12 points on seven shots, adding three rebounds and an assist. The final Trojan in double figures was another junior, Quincy transfer Anthony McGhee, who scored 10 points and was a pair of boards away from a double-double.

Taylor (1-0) faces off against Oakland City (0-0) in its home opener on Monday, November 3rd, inside Odle Arena with tip set for 7:00 pm.