Taylor Soars Past Moody in 27th-Annual Ivanhoes Silent Night

#TUSilentNight Page

UPLAND, Ind. – An offensive masterclass fueled Taylor (8-2, 2-1 CL) past 100 points for the second-consecutive season and fifth time overall for a 107-59 win over Moody Bible, with an electric crowd cheering them on.

The Trojans quickly ended the silence with four buckets in the first 90 seconds of action. Nate Paarlberg slammed home a breakaway dunk for the tenth point, and the packed student section came to life and stormed the court to fully begin the party.

The brief delay in action did nothing to slow the offense for TU, who scored the first 24 points of the contest, assisting on its first nine made baskets and splashing home ten shots to start the iconic game. All of this happened in the span of just over four minutes of game time, with the game well in hand before Moody (2-7) knew what hit them.

Kaden Fuhrmann paced the electric offense in the opening half, scoring 15 of his seventeen points before the break, as the starters combined for 34 points and missed just four shots, with no one playing for more than 10 minutes.

The starting lineup continued its brilliance and ended the night with 57 points on a ridiculous 25-31 shooting from the field, including 5-7 from beyond the arc.

A robust 63 second-half points pushed TU over 100, with freshman Joey Heaston calmly hitting a free throw to secure the century mark. The fantastic student section broke out into song shortly after, giving everyone in attendance a beautiful rendition of Silent Night to end the evening in Odle Arena.

Taylor improved to 26-1 all-time in Silent Night contests, with a pair of big men delivering double-doubles, both in 17 minutes or less on the floor. Anton Webb put up an impressive line of 12 points, 11 rebounds, four steals, three blocks, and three assists, while Levin Smith scored 12 and pulled down a career-high ten boards to go with four blocks.

The crowd was lively, performing skits during every timeout, including a game of duck-duck-goose and a bunch of Caitlin Clarks playing a pickup game while other costumes, including a cornfield, minions, and a group of buzz lightyears.

The Trojans have a short turnaround with a clash against Crossroads League foe No. 14 Grace (7-3, 2-1 CL) in under 24 hours, with the home game set for a 3:00 pm tip on Saturday, December 7.