Box Score Cincinnati, Ohio – The Transylvania men's basketball team used a balanced attack to beat the Mount St. Joseph University Lions, 69-57 on Wednesday evening at the Harrington Center.
Transylvania picked up its second win of conference play to move to 2-3 in Heartland Collegiate Athletic Conference play and 7-5 overall. Mount St. Joseph fell to 6-8 overall and 2-5 in conference play.
Wednesday's game marked a return to action for Transylvania as the Pioneers competed for the first time since December 29 due to its three most recent opponents being forced to cancel games because of covid protocols.
Despite an involuntary two-week delay on gameplay, the Pioneers were no worse for the wear as they exploded for an 8-0 lead and held the momentum in Cincinnati for the majority of the night.
Four Pioneer starters scored 13 points apiece to work their way to victory; Brandon Cromwell notched his first career double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds, adding three assists and a steal on 6 for 10 shooting from the floor.
Zach Larimore, Hunter Penn, and Jack Patton all put up a lucky 13 to give the Pioneers their first victory of 2022.
After the Pioneers built an early lead on the road, the first half turned into an offensive slog as the Lions responded with eight straight points for a tie game six minutes into the contest. The Pioneers held a 19-18 advantage with 5:38 to go in the half before catching fire late; Colby Napier knocked down a triple to spark a 12-0 run for Transylvania. Penn scored five straight points in the midst of the run to push the Pioneers to a 31-18 advantage.
The Pioneers shot 53 percent in the first half while holding Mount St. Joseph to 9 for 25 shooting from the field over that stretch.
Though the Lions battled to cut their deficit to seven points at the half, the Pioneers put their foot on the pedal immediately to start the second half with Patton scoring five points early in the half and Cromwell continuing his steady barrage of jumpers.
The senior Patton galvanized another 9-2 Pioneer run, capped off by a Larimore triple that spotted the Pioneers a 49-33 chokehold on the contest with 12 minutes left in regulation.
Mount St. Joseph made one last run at the Pioneers, cutting their deficit to 11, but Napier calmly buried a wide-open triple from the left side to lift the Pioneers to a 63-49 cushion with under five minutes to go.
The Pioneers finished the evening shooting 57 percent from the field and outrebounded the Lions, 36-26.
Transylvania is next scheduled to be in action on Saturday, January 15 against the Anderson University Ravens. The road contest for the Pioneers is scheduled to tip-off at 3:00 p.m. at O.C. Lewis Gymnasium in Anderson, Indiana.
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