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Messages - TUAngola

#1
Trine commit:

Preston Malpass    6'7 F   East Jordan, MI

Prepped at La Porte La Lumiere IN.
#2
Quote from: KnightSlappy on March 16, 2024, 11:18:41 PMThe rumor I heard this weekend was that Megnanglo would be coming back to Trine.

It's been confirmed that Megnanglo will be returning for a 5th year.  That is great news!  I have also heard that Cam Awls will probably be coming back as well.  That means we'll be only losing 2 players from the championship roster for the 24-25 season, Cortez Garland and Brent Cox.

It's going to be another dogfight in the MIAA next season between Calvin, Hope and Trine.  I think both Olivet and Adrian will be much better too.


#3
Trine commit:

Kieran Tewari    6'3 G    Yorktown HS, IN
#4
Does anyone know where I can find a link to a video reply of last nights game?  If so let me know.  I've checked CBSSports and YouTube with no luck.

Thanks!
#5
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on March 16, 2024, 07:59:43 PMSo is everyone eligible to come back next year for Trine? I believe Trent Cox is done, right? I know Cortez transferred, but I don't know how many years he played at Albion.

Both Brent Cox and Cortez Garland were 5th year seniors, they are the only 2 who don't have remaining eligibility.
Emmanuel Megnanglo and Cameron Awls are 4 year seniors, but I don't look for either one to come back for a 5th year.  They both participated on senior day.

These guys will be back next season...maybe...you never know with the transfer portal:

Name/ 2024-25 Class

Fred Garland - Sr (was listed as a junior on the roster, if he comes back it will be his last eligible year)
Aidan Smylie - Sr
Drew Moore - Sr
Grant Pahl - Sr
Ryan Preston - Sr
Nate Tucker - Jr
Logan McKenzie - Jr
Hayden Jones - Jr (was injured most of second half of season)
Logan Gard - Jr (was out all year with injury)
Evan Lumbrezer - Jr (split time on JV/Varsity)
Drew Cwik - Jr (JV as soph, dressed a couple times on varsity)
Colin Shriver - Jr (JV as soph, dressed a couple times on varsity)
Jayce Cusack - Soph

There could be a couple Freshman on this year's Trine JV who might contribute next year.  Trine's JV went undefeated in their season.
#6
Trine is your 2024 NCAA DIII National Champions!!  #13 Trine 69 #1 Hampden-Sydney 61.

Game was big time, what a crowd and atmosphere, Trine fans really showed out, it was crazy loud.  HSC also had a nice contingent and very vocal crowd. Attendance was 4546 which broke the DIII record for a championship game.  Trine struggled with the Tigers defense in the first half, had a couple big scoring droughts where it was tough to find any good looks at the basket.  HSC went up 17-8 and it didn't look good.  We finally got some shots to drop and went on a 15-2 scoring run to go up by four 23-19 before the Tigers scored the last 6 points to lead  25-23 at halftime.  Adam Brazil with 4 3-pointers to lead HSC with 12 points at the break. 

Cortez Garland scored Trine's first 7 points of the second half and we went up 30-25 before HSC hit the scoring column.  We continued to gain confidence breaking down HSC's terrific defense and getting some better looks at the basket.  We kept the Tigers at arm's length for most of the second half as they never re-gained the lead.  Cortez, with 18 in the half, led the Thunder in scoring with 22 and was voted the Most Outstanding Player at the Final Four.  Aiden Smylie and Nate Tucker also with huge contributions tonight with 12 and 13 points respectively, they also garnered spots on the all-tournament team.  We shot over 50% from the field in the second half and also had a good night at the FT line making 22-25.

Brazil with 23 points to lead all scorers, but we defended him much better the second half as he was only 2-13 after the break.  We did a great job against their all-american forward Hubbard, limited him to 7 points in the game.

What a ride this has been.  Made this old man shed a tear or two of joy tonight.  :'(   
#7
It's down to the championship game tomorrow, #1 Hampden-Sydney against Trine at 4pm at 'MTI South'.  Just a tremendous effort by the guys to defeat a really good Trinity team last night.  In the first half we got off to a great start, up 14 at one point.  But you know Trinity wasn't going away, in the second half they whittled it down to 3 as they made it so difficult for the Thunder to get any good shots at the basket.  But credit to Trine for grinding thru that tough patch and getting the momentum back to pull out the game.

The Trine faithful was amazing last night, students, pep band, cheerleaders, and it's only going to be a bigger crowd tomorrow.  The ticketing portal shows that they are now opening up seats in the corners that were curtained off yesterday.  The team will be in their road blue's tomorrow so it will be a 'blue out' for fans at the Coliseum.  Come say hi if you see me at the game, I'll be the one in the blue pullover with the Power 'T' on the chest...oh and so will 3000 of my friends be in blue, although on social media they are hoping for a crowd of over 4000!  ;D

Win or lose it has been a fun ride.  Special thanks to a certain Calvin poster who offered me up some killer seats this weekend.
#8
Quote from: Flying Dutch Fan on March 14, 2024, 10:08:25 AM
Quote from: TUAngola on March 14, 2024, 09:05:05 AMHappy Final Four Day!  Can't wait to get down to Fort Wayne this afternoon.  Should be a large Trine fan base, I've read on social media that the Trine allotment of tickets sold out fairly quicky.  Also Trine has arranged for 5 fan buses for the students for tonight's game.  I read that those seats were gone in 30+ minutes.

Go Thunder!!

Sounds like it should be a great atmosphere for the Thunder.  HOPEing for a couple of enourmous wins for them.  Enjoy the experience TU - I know I have great memories of our trips to the Final Four - not only the games but the atmosphere around it all.

Thanks FDF!  Even if Trine loses I am still planning on going to the championship game on Saturday.

There has been a lot of rain and THUNDER today in the Angola area, maybe an omen for tonight? ::)
#9
Happy Final Four Day!  Can't wait to get down to Fort Wayne this afternoon.  Should be a large Trine fan base, I've read on social media that the Trine allotment of tickets sold out fairly quicky.  Also Trine has arranged for 5 fan buses for the students for tonight's game.  I read that those seats were gone in 30+ minutes.

Go Thunder!!
#10
Quote from: Greek Tragedy on March 11, 2024, 10:00:25 AMAbsolute choke job by Platteville.

Anyway, what's up with Brent Cox? Starts and plays about 20 mpg, averages a respectable 10 and 5 during the regular season. Now, he can't buy a minute. Something like 20 total minutes in 4 post season games? Ouch.

Disappointed about the crowd size for the Elite 8 game. Box score says less than 1200?? Even if the students were gone, that's really poor support.

Apparently Overway got injured during the Trinity game? They really locked him down.
.

I realize the box score said 1181 attendance, but there is no way that is accurate.  There were 2230 the night before against WashU and the crowd if anything was bigger against UWP.  I'd say MTI was 2/3 full, capacity is 3500, so maybe 2300.  We're one of the top 5 in attendance in D3.  The community has really gotten behind the Thunder.  I am expecting a huge contingent of Trine fans at the Coliseum on Thursday.
#11
Quote from: pointlem on March 10, 2024, 09:04:59 AM
Quote from: TUAngola on March 09, 2024, 10:11:24 PMOH MY GOODNESS!!  I am still in shock.  :o

Will post tommorrow as I need to comprehend what I just witnessed.  Jubilation for the Thunder, heartbreak for the Pioneers.
Looking forward to your recap TUAngola...ecstacy in Angola?

Hope fans will understand how dumbstruck Platteville fans are--after, in December, the Hope team lost after leading Platteville by 7 . . . and that was three days after Whitewater scored 12 points in the unforgettable last 46 seconds to (like Trine) snatch victory from the jaws of seemingly certain defeat.

The unpredictability of sport is part of the fun--especially when you do what Trine did last night. 

Unbelievable game.  I'm still trying to figure out how it was possible for the Thunder to steal this one.  UWP was up 10 with 80 seconds left, should be able to pull it out, right?  It was a combination of missed free throws and bad decisions by the Pioneers coupled with a never say die mentality by the Thunder to even get the game to overtime.  Drew Moore was the hero for getting this game to overtime.  He was fouled on a 3 point attempt and hit first two to get game to 77-69. Ten seconds later a steal by Cortez led to a leakout and layup by Fred to get it to 77-71 with 65 seconds left. UWP runs 25 seconds off clock and forces up a 3 pointer, Trine secures rebound and Fred finds Manny inside for a dunk to get game to 77-73 with 30 seconds left.  UWP calls timeout, on inbounds play we foul UWP's center right away. He misses front end of 1 and 1. We rebound and get a pull up jumper from Drew to draw within two, 77-75 with 17 seconds left.  We foul Probst on inbounds pass.  He hits the first of two to make it 78-75 with 16 seconds left. However he misses the second and opens the door for the Thunder to tie with a three.  UWP plays great perimeter defense, we couldn't find anyone open and end up throwing a pass out of bounds with 3 seconds left.  Game over, right?  It should be, but this is where it gets wacky. We foul Pearson with 2 seconds left. The All-American can't convert, Drew gets the rebound and is preparing for a 3 quarter court heave when Max Love hacks him before getting a shot off.  I was thinking why did he do this?  I get you're up 3, but this opens the door to make the first free throw and maybe get a putback off a missed second free throw.  Odds in hitting that 3 quarter shot is slim to none, if I'm Platteville I take those odds.  I think there was 0.9 seconds on the clock, but not for certain. Drew makes the first. Here comes the intentional miss, will it work? Drew clangs the second FT off the left side of the rim and tracks down his own rebound and attempts a game tieing jumper before the buzzer.  Shot misses, game over, but wait, another foul on UWP's Love.  It was so loud in the arena I couldn't even hear the whistle but then I saw the Trine players jump around as the ref put up his hand for a foul.  Unbelievable, just another bad decision by UWP.  0.3 seconds to go and Drew has to make both to send it to OT.  I can't imagine the pressure, but I could tell by his body language he looked calm and confident.  He swishes the first, the Pioneers call time out to ice him.  Drew steps to the line and calmly swished the second.  Tie game 78-78. Remarkably the game goes to OT.

I won't talk about the OT session, you can find many different video angles of the last 8 seconds on social media of Cortez's game winning shot.

This was a game that Platteville controlled for most of the night.  Yes we had some runs, but the Pioneers always had answers for our runs.  The resiliancy of the Thunder was remarkable.  I actually thought we played very well, but Platteville did too.  Just a great game all-around, but a game that UWP should have won.  But Trine had to make plays at the end and they did.  All the hard work the guys have put in this season has paid off with a trip to Fort Wayne this week for the final four.  We're a little banged up.  Cox has been dealing with injuries the past few weeks and didn't get much playing time this weekend.  Cusack and Jones are also both out, Cusack dressed but has a knee issue that he re-tweaked at the end of the WashU game, Jones was in street clothes.  Tucker picked up the slack and had a good game for us last night, little used McKenzie spelled Megnanglo a couple times and hit a bucket.

Next up is Trinity (CT) in the second game on Thursday.  Was hoping that Calvin would knock off the Bantams to set up a MIAA semi-final.  Trinity is a great defensive team and has had an outstanding season.  Will be a great challenge for the Thunder.  Hoping for a good contingent of Thunder fans in Fort Wayne as this is in our backyard.

Trine: Moore 24, C Garland 20, F Garland 18, Tucker 13
UW-Platteville: Pearson 25, Love 21, Hettinger 13, Olson 10 
#12
OH MY GOODNESS!!  I am still in shock.  :o

Will post tommorrow as I need to comprehend what I just witnessed.  Jubilation for the Thunder, heartbreak for the Pioneers.

#13
Final scores from Angola last night:

#11 UW-Platteville 95 #6 Case Western Reserve 75
#13 Trine 86 RV Washington University 65

Game one:  CWRU starts out strong jumping out to a quick lead, but Platteville starts finding their rhythm and takes their first lead of the game with 9 minutes left in the half.  They extend it to 6 before CWRU ties it up with 2 minutes left.  Platteville with a 3 at the horn to go in at the break leading 37-32.  Coming out in the second half CWRU gets it back to a 1 pt deficit, but from there it was all Platteville as they shot almost 60% in the second half including 58% from deep.  Ben Probst was the man in the second half for the Pioneers, going 6-8 from three including 4 straight 3's in a row.  He finished with 27 points, going 7-10 from long distance.  Case, on the other hand, did not have a great shooting night like they did against Hope.  Once Platteville got on a roll the Spartans started to take bad 1 on 1 shots and the deficit just snowballed.

Game two:  WashU takes an early lead 4-0, then Megnanglo hits an open 3 (it's not his game but we'll take it).  Next possession Moore hits a jump shot for Trine's first lead 5-4, which turns out to be a lead they will never relinquish.  Outstanding performance by the Thunder on both ends of the court.  We had maybe our best 3 pt shooting game of the year, going  10-15 on the night.  Smylie with a career high 23 points to lead Trine which included going 4-5 from three.  Cortez Garland also with a great night with 22 points, with a perfect 3-3 from deep, I believe 2 of those were with just a few seconds left on the shot clock.  The Bears just never got it going.  I can't tell you how many times Megnanglo affects the other teams tendancies in the paint.  The box score won't show it but there were at least 6-8 times where it appeared a WashU guy might have an open lane to the bucket but Manny rotates over to help out which either leads to a block, a forced shot, or no shot because the opponent knows it's not going in.

Tonight, an Elite 8 game that is a rematch between Platteville and Trine.  The Thunder got them in December in a holiday tournament held at Trine by a score of 80-68.  This was Megnanglo's first game back after being out with a hand injury.  If I recall the Pioneers had an awful shooting night in the first matchup.  They were very impressive last night, you can tell they are peaking at the right time.  They have the motivation for both revenge and a chance to play in the Final Four.

I'm expecting another huge crowd tonight, we had 2200 last night.  It will be larger tonight as Platteville has a much bigger traveling fan base than WashU.  We could break 3000 if more students come back to campus today from spring break.  The community support last night was outstanding. Hulk Hogan was even there cheering us on.  https://twitter.com/d3hoops/status/1766279527573971027  ;D
#14
Massey predictions for Friday's Sweet 16 brackets involving Calvin & Trine:

At Trinity (CT):
Randolph Macon 67 Calvin 59
Trinity 69 Tufts 62

At Trine:
UW-Platteville 79 Case Western Reserve 77
Trine 70 WashU 68

I'm looking forward to being at MTI for both games Friday.  First one should be a shootout, both Platteville and Case can put up big numbers offensively.  The second game should be more defensive oriented, will be decided by who has the better shooting/rebounding night.  It will be interesting to see if we can hang with a UAA team.  If not for a remarkable second half shooting exhibition by Case, Hope showed they can play with the UAA's best. 

The Trine students are on spring break this week, hopefully we'll have a bunch want to come back to campus early this weekend, it makes a big difference with the Blue Crew in tow. 

Good luck to both the Knights and Thunder.  Let's rendezvous in Fort Wayne next weekend!

Win or lose, this will be a season I will never forget. 
#15
Trine loses second round game to #18 UW-Oshkosh 74-48.  Just ran into a buzz saw last night as the Titans shot 55.6% from the floor including an atonishing 12-19 from three for 63.2%.  Oh yeah throw in a perfect 12-12 from the line.  Just to be able to win the MIAA tournament and get to the dance is a huge accomplishment for this young team.  Beating Gustavus in the first round shows you how far they have come.  We lose just one Senior in Chelsi Giesige who battled with injuries for most of her 4 years at Trine.  The future looks bright for the Thunder.  8-)