Our Pioneers faced off against Defiance here in the Beck Center this Saturday afternoon looking to extend their win streak. The Beck Center was a packed house today celebrating Transylvania Alumni who provide unity through Title IX. Brian Lane used a lot of this energy to fuel his team to play hard from the jump, and that they did. The Pioneers determined to play their style of basketball set the tone and kept it the whole game.
In the first half the team's leading scorer this season, Junior Jaylan Green, got the offense started with a quick 7 points before the first break, Green would end the half with double digits.. With the offense initiated Transy got to work staying at their pace offensively letting the ball work and finding open shots. This allowed our defense to shine as the Pioneers have been playing fantastic press defense to run teams into late shot clock situations then crashing the glass out rebounding Defiance offensively. Steals and fast brakes provided enough to keep the game gridlocked at 40-40 going into half
In the second half the game slowed due to physicality on both ends. However the Pioneers are no stranger to a game where tough baskets are commonplace as they have faced a rigid schedule and opponents. This made our Men buy into the offense more, having to trust their teammates to big open shots, and the assist numbers back that up. Dakota Capps pushed the pace leading in assists as he loves to keep everyone involved. Fast break points and steals were categories we continued to dominate in throughout the half but stellar shooting from deep was the largest factor. Colby Napier has never been one to shy away from shooting as he came alive this half scoring 19 alone this half while hitting 5 3's. The offensive machine never halted tonight and as recent previous games show the methodical killer nature our team can play. The game ended in the Pioneers favor at 88-76, Win.
Head coach Brian Lane had this to say after the game
"We jumped out to an early lead and I felt like we stopped having the energy that we need to win in this league. Defiance did a great job of chipping away and going into the half tied at 40. We talked about bringing a different level of intensity and execution to start the second half and we did that. I am very happy with how this team continues to grow and play together as we near tournament time."
Junior Simon Smith in last games performance was 100% from the field going 4-4 from 3 as well. After such a dominant game, Smith stayed aggressive today, staying locked in from deep, connecting on 2 from deep and hanging a modest 15 points on the night. After this win the Pioneers only have four more games remaining in the regular season and will look to play away at Mount St. Joseph Wednesday February 8th.
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