Truman State men's basketball trailed by 10 in the second half Saturday and beat Cedarville 90-83 at Callan Athletic Center in Cedarville, Ohio, for its first win of the season.
Jakob Blakley led the Bulldogs (1-2) with 23 points, and freshman Ethan Taylor added 14 points, 12 rebounds, and four steals, scoring nine of his points in the final 3:53.
Cedarville led 35-26 in the first half before Blakley made two 3-pointers in an 8-0 Truman State burst that cut the deficit to one. Kyle Edison scored for the Bulldogs with 15 seconds left, and the teams went to the break tied at 41.
Cedarville went ahead 54-48 early in the second half and stretched the lead to 63-53 on a layup by Elijah McCree, of Cedarville, with 11:05 remaining. Taylor scored on consecutive possessions for a 76-75 lead with 3:22 left, then completed a three-point play for a 79-77 edge after Cedarville had moved back in front. Will Gibson, of Cedarville, tied it at 79, and Taylor scored again with 1:58 left to put Truman State ahead for good.
Edison made two free throws before Cedarville cut it to 83-81 with a minute left. Blakley then hit a 3-pointer for an 86-81 lead. Roy Henderson III stole the ball for the Bulldogs and made a free throw. After McCree scored, Marquis Carver-Smith dunked for an 89-83 Truman State lead with 15 seconds left. Edison added a free throw with seven seconds remaining.
Carver-Smith scored 18 points on 7-of-8 shooting. Edison had 15 points and five assists, and Antwan Robinson added 12 points off the Truman State bench.
Truman State shot 48.4 percent from the field (30-of-62), made 10 of 25 3-pointers, and went 20-of-30 at the free-throw line. McCree led Cedarville (2-1) with 22 points. Jonathan Whiteside had 21 points and 12 rebounds for the Yellow Jackets, and Mikail Harmison scored 18.
The win followed a 92-84 loss to Findlay on Friday at the same gym. Edison led Truman State with 18 points and four assists and made four of five 3-pointers. Henderson scored 13, Quientan McCafferty added 10, and Robinson had nine off the bench. Findlay led 35-34 at halftime and later by 13.
Truman State plays at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 21, at Delta State in Cleveland, Mississippi.
Final tally: Truman State 90, Cedarville 83.