NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Friday night served as a memorable checkpoint in the timeline of Trevecca men’s basketball head coach Sam Harris’ career as he racked up his 500th victory vs. Kentucky State.
TU erased an 11-point halftime deficit and roared back to clip the Thorobreds for a 65-64 final in front of the Trevecca home crowd in the Trojan Fieldhouse.
It was the consummate transition into the holiday break for the Trojans (6-7, 2-0 G-MAC), who will enter 2015 as one of two teams with a 2-0 start to the Great Midwest Athletic Conference schedule.
"We've had some really good players over the years, so I would just say thank you to all of them," remarked Coach Harris after the game (courtesy of tnutrojans.com). "Coaching records are fun to achieve, but they're more fun whose guys call or come back."
The Trojans are off until January 10th, when they begin a three-game G-MAC road trip at Kentucky Wesleyan College (8-3). Game time at the Owensboro Sportscenter is 3:15 p.m.
Trevecca found itself in an early hole Friday night, due to a combination of their own poor shooting and a hot start for Thorobreds guard Tryston Ford. The Trojans missed 26 of 38 shots in the opening half, including nine of 11 3-point attempts. Meanwhile, Ford scored 12 first-half points on 4-of-5 shooting from beyond the arc, as the Thorobreds shot 45 percent on the way to a 37-26 halftime lead.
As the second half began, the Trojans slowly began to chip away at the Kentucky State lead, pulling within a point at 50-49 on a pair of Jalen Palm free throws with 11:27 left. A 3-pointer by Palm and a layup by Byron Sanford completed a 14-2 run that gave Trevecca a 56-52 lead with 8:12 to play.
The game was back-and-forth the rest of the way, with the Trojans taking a 64-62 lead on a bucket by Matt Gamberoni with 1:02 left. On Kentucky State's next possession, Malcolm Smith missed a jumper, but the Thorobreds got the offensive rebound and Ford knocked down a jumper in the paint to tie the game at 64 with just 14 seconds left.
From there, a crazy finish ensued. Percy Blade let fly from 3-point range as the clock ticked down, and Gamberoni was fouled on a putback attempt with just 0.4 seconds on the clock. Gamberoni knocked down one of the two free throws, and the Trojans had the victory.
Palm led the Trojans with 19 points and added seven rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Sanford added 15 points, six steals, five rebounds, and four assists, while Gamberoni contributed 13 points, 12 rebounds, and seven blocks. Ford finished with a team-high 17 points for Kentucky State.
"This was a nice comeback win for us," added Coach Harris. "Our effort picked up in the second half, and good things started happening. It's a good team win, and a good way to go into Christmas."
Contributions to the article made by Greg Ruff, Trevecca University (tnutrojans.com)