Nineteenth-ranked Transy (17-3, 8-1 HCAC) has won six straight games and nine of its last 10. The only loss in that span was an 86-77 decision at Mt. St. Joseph on Jan. 11. The Lions (12-8, 5-4 HCAC) came into the game tied for second in the league with Bluffton, Franklin, and Hanover.
The Pioneers came out of the gate on fire, scoring the first eight points of the game and 17 of the first 19 for a 15-point advantage just five minutes into the contest. Robert Pendleton had five points during the run, Marc Bain contributed five more and Bryan Howard pitched in four. The other three came off a Searle bomb.
But Mt. St. Joseph came back in the period. After Transy grabbed a 19-point lead, 30-11 with 9:44 to play, the visitors capped the half with a 25-12 run, including 11 straight points at one point, to trail by only six, 42-36 at intermission.
Pendleton, Bain, and Searle scored early in the second half to get the advantage to nine, but another Lion run got it to three, 53-50, with 12:48 to go on a Kevin Darthard bucket. Darthard led Mt. St. Joseph with 14 points to go with four rebounds.
The deficit remained in single digits until Transy pulled away in the final eight minutes.
Matt Finke had 11 points, seven rebounds, and five assists for the Pioneers while Pendleton hit three of four three-pointers to finish with 11 points. Bain had 12 points and five assists while Howard finished with 10 points, all in the first half.
Marcus Smith added 10 points for the Lions, who shot 42 percent from the field for the game, including nine of 21 from long range. Transy hit 55 percent (17 of 31) in the first half and 51 percent (29 of 57) for the game. Transy was seven of 12 from three-point range in the first half and finished at 46 percent (11 of 24).
Transy will travel to Bluffton on Saturday for a 3 p.m. HCAC contest.