Taylor Triumphs Over Heidelberg In Men's Zimmerman Classic Opener

SPRINGFIELD, Ohio — The Taylor and Heidelberg men's basketball teams waged a battle throughout much of the opening men's game of the 2010 Charles B. Zimmerman Classic hosted by Kiwanis, but Taylor rode a wave of second-half momentum to an 81-65 victory.

The game saw seven lead changes throughout a close matchup, but the real difference-maker came from the floor, where Taylor could not miss the bucket down the stretch. The Trojans finished the game shooting 63.3-percent, led by Casey Coons at 11-of-17. He topped all scorers with 31 points, including two three-pointers and a 7-of-7 outing at the free-throw line.

Coons added team-bests of five assists and three steals, while three teammates joined him in double figures, including Jake Burkholder (10), Tommy Peller (12) and Drew Tower (16). Burkholder led the team with seven rebounds. Impressively, Taylor made all 13 free throws the Trojans attempted.

Dane Givner championed the Heidelberg offense with 21, the lone scorer in double figures. He got there on 7-of-16 shooting, including 3-of-5 from long range and 4-of-4 at the line. He also led the 'Berg with seven rebounds and chipped in two assists and two steals.

Quintin Aden Jr. added a 4-of-7 performance from the floor with one three pointer as the team's second-leading scorer.

Taylor held a 37-31 lead after the hard-fought first half, with Heidelberg owning a lead as late as 15 minutes into the period after leading by as many as five points early. Taylor led wire-to-wire in the second half, opening up an advantage that with five minutes remaining in the game grew to 22 points.

Taylor moves on to face the winner of the 7 p.m. matchup between Kean and Wittenberg in the tournament championship game at 7 p.m. Thursday. Heidelberg will face the loser at 2:15 p.m. in the consolation.