Box Score DEERFIELD, Ill. - A slow start to the second half proved too much to overcome for the Trojans as the TIU Men's Basketball team suffered a 99-83 loss to Olivet Nazarene on Saturday afternoon.

A 9-0 run spanning less than three minutes to open the second half suddenly put the visitors up 55-49, and ONU would not look back from there. The visitors used a strong shooting performance from long range to chip away at the early Trojan lead. The Tigers would knock down 55% of their three pointers, while Nic Reed racked up 30 points and 10 boards to lead all scorers.

"We're struggling to grasp our identity right now," said Head Coach Boomer Roberts. "What makes the mountaintops even sweeter is when you've been through the valley's first, and we really need to appreciate the adversity and embrace the challenges that are coming at us."

The Trojans would cut the second half deficit to as little as 8 midway through the half after back to back three pointers from Jeremy Carlyle and a bucket from O'Shae Williams. After a ONU timeout the Tigers rattled off seven straight points to take a 15 point lead and eventually seal the game, handing TIU their fourth loss of the season.

"I still have a lot of belief in this team, and I still think we can achieve our goals we've set, and it doesn't get much bigger than on the road at RMU on Tuesday," added Roberts. 

The Trojans hit the road on Tuesday for their final game before the winter break as TIU takes on CCAC rival Robert Morris at 7 pm.