Senior Day Spoiled by Ten-Point Defeat Against No. 19 Huntington

UPLAND, Ind. – After celebrating a pair of seniors on Saturday, Taylor struggled to get going offensively against No. 19 Huntington in a 74-64 defeat inside Odle Arena.

Before the action, Taylor honored seniors, Nate Paarlberg and Jackson Ullom for four years of excellence in the Taylor men's basketball program.

In a key game in the Crossroads League standings Taylor could not match the energy of the Foresters until late in the contest to fall a game behind Huntington and Bethel.

Taylor traded baskets early before a 9-0 run gave Huntington a 22-11 lead near the midway mark of the first half.

Every bucket by the Trojans was answered by the Foresters for the remainder of the opening 20 minutes but Nathan Baker nailed a shot from downtown to head to the locker room trailing 39-32.

The offense started to sizzle for the Trojans after the break with buckets on four of the first five possessions of the second half. Izaiah Day scored four in the spurt which trimmed the deficit to three within three minutes of the restart.

The next six minutes doomed the Trojans as a 12-0 run by Huntington (20-6, 11-5 CL) pushed the lead to 15 with 11 minutes remaining in the game.

Baker and Pete Combs combined for 10 points in a 10-5 run for TU to get back into the contest late in the second.

Huntington led by 11 before a trio of stops on the defensive end combined with triples by Baker, Anthony McGhee, and Paarlberg got Taylor within a possession for the first time in 15 minutes.

Jackson Paul took over offensively for the Foresters and splashed home a pair of high difficulty shots in the final two minutes to put the game to bed.

Combs and Day led TU with 12 points apiece, and Day added five rebounds, two steals, and two blocks. Baker was phenomenal off the bench with 11 points, five boards, and two assists while hitting a trio of threes. Carson Gould continues to be a dynamic playmaker, adding five assists and 11 points in the game.

Taylor (18-8, 10-6 CL) caps its regular season home slate with a matchup against Spring Arbor (13-13, 6-10 CL) on Wednesday, February 18th, with tip set for 7:30 pm.