As the Taylor men’s basketball regular season comes to a close, the team clinched fifth place in the Crossroads League standings, setting themselves up for a deep run in the postseason. Their record currently sits at 19-9 (11-7) on the season.
The Trojans got off to a fast start, going 7-3 through their first 10 games. This included marquee wins over No. 1 Indiana Wesleyan University and No. 11 Bethel University.
Taylor came into their game against IWU on Nov. 22 unranked and were down 41-36 at halftime. The Trojans battled their way back to take a 63-62 lead late in the second half. Both teams traded buckets, keeping it close.
Taylor was up 74-69 with under two minutes left when junior guard Izaiah Day splashed a three to take an eight-point advantage.
The Wildcats tried mounting a comeback, but the Trojans grabbed three key rebounds from Wildcat free throw misses to clinch an 80-77 victory, handing the Wildcats their first loss of the season.
Day has been key to the Trojans’ success this season as he has taken a leap in his scoring output. Last season he averaged just 4.8 points per game in limited playing time. He has now become the top scoring option for the Trojans, averaging 16.1 points per game in a starting role.
“I put in a lot of work over the summer,” Day said. “The guys have also done a great job of getting me open and get the good looks so I got to thank them.”
Taylor didn’t wait too long to put another upset, ranked win on the board when they defeated No. 11 Bethel 91-80 on Dec. 3 on the road. Senior center forward Pete Combs had himself a game. He led the team in scoring and rebounds with 26 points and seven rebounds, leading the team in each.
Junior guard and Quincy University transfer Anthony McGee was efficient from the three point line and knocked down three of five from deep. He also hit a trio of midrange jumpers and two free throws to give him 17 points on the night.
Another key contributor for the Trojans this season is freshman forward Nathan Baker. In his game against Bethel, he had 15 points off the bench and hit all three of his attempts from downtown. He’s averaging eight points a game and deep hits 46.3% of his attempts.
After a hot streak of winning 12 games in a row and earning a top 25 ranking for the first time under head coach Austin Peters, the Trojans lost six of their last nine games to end the season.
“I think a lot of us were just getting complacent,” Baker said. “Watching the film, I think you could just tell we weren’t the same team that beat IWU.”
The Trojans ended their season with a 72-59 road loss to Mount Vernon Nazarene. With the regular season over, the purple and gray now set their sights on the CL Tournament and NAIA National Tournament.
Last season, the Trojans qualified for the CL Tournament but were first round exits against Bethel. Taylor is matched up with Bethel again for the 2026 tournament. The game will take place at Bethel on Feb. 25 at 7 p.m.
With two high-ranked wins and a top-half finish in a competitive CL conference, the Trojans may have done enough to propel themselves to the national tournament. The team last made it to the postseason in the 2016-2017 season where they were second round exits, falling 74-72 to No. 11 Trinity International University.
