Trojans Blitz Madonna in Home Opener

Photo Gallery

UPLAND, Ind. – The Taylor University men's basketball team treated the Odle crowd with a crisp performance in its 2014-2015 home opener, blasting Madonna on Wednesday night for the 82-55 victory.

"It was nice to get a home win. I am very pleased with how we shot the ball tonight," stated head coach Josh Andrews. "We played team basketball on both ends. To place five guys in double figures on offense and force 26 turnovers on defense is an impressive feat for us."

The Trojans were led by 18 points on seven-of-eight shooting from Ian Dutcher, who has averaged 19.0 points on 78.9-percent shooting from the floor in TU's last two games.

"The game has really slowed for Dutcher," commented Andrews. "He is under control and understands our system now. He is really a consummate team player."

Dutcher had plenty of help, as Kyle Stidom added 16 points on six-of-nine shooting to go with five rebounds, four assists, four steals and one block. Jesse Coffey added 15 points on five-of-11 from beyond the arc and swiped a pair of steals, while Keaton Hendricks reached double figures for the third-straight game with 12 and Shakir Dunning added 10 points, four assists and four steals. Darayl Jordan also continued his strong start with seven points without a miss and swatted a game-high four blocks.

For the game, TU shot 55.8 percent from the floor and 89.5 percent from the charity stripe, while notching 16 steals and forcing 26 Madonna miscues. The Crusaders also struggled to find their range and ended the contest shooting just 39.1 percent.

The 82 points for Taylor marked the highest total allowed this season by Madonna, as MU entered the game ranked No. 20 in the nation by holding foes to 61.8 points per outing.

It was not all about the offense for the Purple and Gold, as the Trojans continued their stretch of dominating defense with their third-straight game of not allowing more than 60 points to open the season. The three-game stretch matches the total number of times TU held teams under 60 points during the entire 2013-2014 season.

The 55 points allowed also matched Taylor's best defensive effort of second-year head coach, Josh Andrews', tenure with the program, while the 27-point spread marks TU's largest margin of victory under Andrews.

Taylor set the tone early, forcing the issue defensively and feeling the hot hand on the offensive end to race to a 31-16 lead by the 8:05 mark. Coffey and Hendricks led the early charge by combining for 22 of the team's first 31 in the scoring column.

The lead swelled to 42-23 on a spinning layup in the paint from Jordan, before a step-back jumper from Dunning opened a 44-24 gap. Stidom closed the opening half onslaught with a contested layup as time expired to send Taylor to the break with a commanding 46-24 edge.

The Trojans drilled 17-of-25 attempts from the floor in the first half, including seven treys and turned 13 Madonna turnovers in 19 points.

It was more of the same after the beak, with Stidom hitting a layup to double up the Crusaders at 48-24 and Taylor eventually led by as many as 39 points with a 76-37 cushion midway through the second half, before cruising to the 82-55 win.

Taylor (2-1) will compete this weekend at the Rio Grande Tournament in Rio Grande, Ohio. TU is set to play Cincinnati-Clermont (1-2) on Friday at 4:00 pm, with Saturday's opponent and start time to be determined.