Men's Basketball Falls 83-73 in Season Opener

UPLAND, IN - UNOH men's basketball opened up the 2023-24 season on the road at Taylor Thursday night, October 26. The Racers fell behind early but fought back to cut a 15-point second half deficit to just six with three and-a-half minutes left. A few late game turnovers halted the comeback giving the Trojans the final four points of the game for an 83-73 final.

Ryan Archey debuted with the Racers by dropping a game-high 31 points on opening night. The junior transfer shot 12-20 (60%) from the field and 4-5 from outside making all three free throw attempts. Grant Pikkaart was the only other Racer in double-figures going 4-10 from the field and 2-2 from the charity stripe for ten points on the night. Cedric Delancy, Jr. led the team on the boards with six and Marquis Freeman pulled down five.

For just the third time in program history, UNOH was perfect from the free throw line (min. 10 made) making all eleven attempts in the game.

"We saw a lot of positives tonight and I'm proud of our effort," said head coach Richard Westerlund following the game. "I'm proud of the fight of our guys to come back and give ourselves a chance down the stretch. We just have to do a better job of taking care of the ball and finishing possessions."

After cutting the lead to six, the Racers made five turnovers and only produced three shots, converting once, over the final three and half minutes of game time.

Westerlund continued, "We had critical mistakes down the stretch that we can clean up and improve upon. We will keep focusing on changing our best."

UNOH will get eleven days to make those improvements before they host Mt. Vernon Nazarene in the home-opener on Tuesday, November 7, at 7:00 PM.