Second-Half Rally Falls Short as Trojans Drop Road Game Against IU Kokomo

KOKOMO, Ind. – A late second-half surge gave continued to give Taylor hope of a comeback on Wednesday night, but it did not come to fruition in a frustrating 93-85 defeat against IU Kokomo (2-2).

After trailing 69-59 near the midway point of the second half TU started to get close with an Izaiah Day triple followed by Pete Combs converting an and-one. Day and Combs both scored in double figures as the junior duo continues to pace the Trojan offense.

The Cougars stretched the lead back to seven before Zahree Harrison connected on hist first shot from beyond the arc this season and provided a beautiful dish after drawing a double team for a layup by Nathan Baker. Baker led the team with ten rebounds and added 11 points for his first collegiate double-double.

Taylor was behind by seven again shortly after and Chaz Harvey, in his first game this season, hit a shot from near midcourt as the shot clock expired before draining another three-pointer to trim the deficit to one.

The Trojan defense forced a difficult shot and Baker pulled down the rebound, giving TU a chance to finally take the lead. A turnover, one of 16 on the night for the Purple and Gray, led to a bucket for IU Kokomo, who never looked backed and got separation down the stretch.

The Trojans struggled with turnovers and three-point shooting in the first half, committing 12 turnovers, which led to 18 points for the Cougars and hitting just four of 15 shots from beyond the arc.

Both marks improved greatly in the second, turning it over just four times and shotting 8-17 to get back into the contest.

IU Kokomo jumped out to a 7-2 lead early in the game before a 10-2 run gave Taylor the lead after a Nate Paarlberg three. The senior forward led the Trojans with 23 points and added six rebounds and four steals while playing a team-high 32 minutes.

The teams went back and forth for most of the opening half, never leading by more than five until with Taylor leading 36-34 off the back of a pair of buckets by Harvey, the Cougars scored the next 11 points to gain the largest lead of the opening half at 45-36.

TU trimmed the lead with four straight points, but a costly turnover and subsequent layup crushed the momentum going into the locker room.

Taylor (3-2) has a quick turnaround, facing Holy Cross (4-1) on Friday, November 14 inside Odle Arena, with tip scheduled for 7:00 pm.