Taylor Downs Top-Ranked Wildcats in Crossroads League Home Opener

UPLAND, Ind. – Taylor handed cross-county rivals and No. 1 ranked Indiana Wesleyan (7-1, 1-1 CL) its first loss of the season, 80-77, on Saturday afternoon in TU's Crossroads League home opener.

A tough-fought game saw the Trojans hit the decisive shot in the last two minutes when Izaiah Day splashed home a three off a dish from Anthony McGhee to grab a 77-69 advantage and force a timeout by Indiana Wesleyan.

The Wildcats quickly scored the next five points before having to foul to keep the game alive and Taylor struggled to convert but grabbed three offensive rebounds off missed attempts at the charity stripe in the final 30 seconds to preserve the lead despite going 3-9 at the line down the stretch.

Indiana Wesleyan provided a late flurry to get within a possession and were able to get off a three, which would have tied it as time expired. The shot came up short to preserve the monumental upset for Taylor.

The Trojan offense thrived with 17 assists on 28 buckets and five players reaching double figures. Day led the squad with 17 points and eight rebounds, while fellow junior Pete Combs poured in 16 in just 23 minutes as he struggled with foul trouble.

Joining the junior tag team in double digits was McGhee, who did a little of everything with a line of 14 points, four assists, two steals, one block, and one rebound. Nate Paarlberg had 12 and Nathan Baker contributed 12 and eight boards off the bench.

Taylor's defensive game plan for Caedmon Bontrager, the Crossroads-League leader in points and rebounds was terrific, as the big man was held to five made free throws and four rebounds in 30 minutes on the floor.

The offense was electric early as the cross-county rivals traded buckets and were knotted at 13 apiece just over five minutes into the game.

Indiana Wesleyan pushed its lead to six, the highest of the half at 21-15 before Combsconverted a jumper and Paarlberg splashed home a triple off a feed from Chaz Harvey to cut the lead to one at the media timeout.

The teams traded buckets until back-to-back buckets from beyond the arc from Baker and Day forced a timeout, with TU leading 30-27.

Taylor had a 36-34 lead with just over a minute remaining in the half before a 7-0 run gave IWU the lead and momentum heading into the locker room.

The Wildcats scored on the first possession after the break, but four consecutive turnovers slowed the rhythm of the game until Paarlberg and McGhee each scored five points in a 10-0 run for TU.

Indiana Wesleyan roared back and matched its largest lead with a 60-53 advantage under the nine-minute mark.

TU remained unfazed and battled back to regain the lead at 63-62. Neither team could break away until Day's late three, which was just enough breathing room for TU to secure the upset.

Taylor (5-3, 1-1 CL) continues its early Crossroads League schedule against No. 15 Bethel (7-0, 2-0 CL) on the road after Thanksgiving on Wednesday, December 3rd, with tip scheduled for 7:30 pm.