Bulldogs Blast Past Rockhurst Behind Second Half Outburst

FINAL: Truman 88, Rockhurst 71 || Box Scores (HTML | XML | PDF)

2013-14 Schedule || 2013-14 Season Stats || Career Stats (active players)

KANSAS CITY - - An absolutely dominating second half by the Truman men's basketball team sent the squad to its fifth straight Great Lakes Valley Conference win on Thursday night, as the Bulldogs scored 51 second half points en route to an 88-71 victory at division rival Rockhurst.

Truman (13-3, 6-2 GLVC) led by as many as 11 in the first half, building a 22-11 lead on a Reed Mells lay-up with 10:18 to play. The Hawks (5-10, 1-7 GLVC), however, closed the gap in a hurry, posting a 9-1 run during the next three and a half minutes to close Truman's margin to 23-20.

The lead would balloon to seven, but Rockhurst recovered to take the lead on a lay-up with 3:17 to go in the opening half. However, Andrew Vander Zwaag gave Truman the lead right back with a triple that helped propel the 'Dogs to a 37-34 halftime lead.

The second half, on the other hand, was a completely different story, as the Bulldogs hit 15 of their first 18 field goals – including six of its first seven three-pointers – to turn the three point halftime lead into a 24-point margin at 76-52 with eight minutes and change to play. Overall for the half, Truman hit 20 of its 29 total field goal attempts to put up its seventh 50-plus point half of the season.

For the game, five players finished in double-figures, led by a game-high 21 points by junior Seth Jackson. Mells finished with 18 points, eight assists, seven rebounds and two steals, while Carlson added 15 points and seven rebounds. Vander Zwaag chipped in 11 points behind three three-pointers, and freshman Kyle Kanaskie finished with 10 points and four rebounds.

Truman shot 58% in the contest (34-of-59), including a 9-for-15 (60%) effort from beyond the arc. The Bulldogs out-rebounded RU 38-37 and dished out 17 assists. Truman controlled the paint, scoring 42 of its 88 points from the lane and turned nine Hawk miscues into 11 points.

The Bulldogs – winners of five straight conference games for the first time since the 2006 season – close out the weekend trip with a stop at William Jewell on Saturday (Jan. 25) afternoon at 3 p.m. in Liberty, Mo.

Want to stay up-to-date with what's going on with the Bulldogs? Follow @TrumanAthletics on Twitter,become a fan of Truman Athletics on Facebook, subscribe to your favorite team's newsletters/releases, and receive text alerts of scores and big news to interact with all of Truman's 20 athletic programs. For more information, visit our website – TrumanBulldogs.com.

Print Friendly Version