Box Score DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. (Dec. 20) – Junior guard Justin Kuntz and first year forward Joe Gallant each scored in double digits as the Bison fell to 19th-ranked Taylor University Tuesday afternoon in the opening game of the Daytona Beach Shootout played at Embry Riddle University. Kuntz led the Bison with 14 points while Gallant added 10 on 5-for-5 shooting from the field and a perfect percentage at the free-throw line.

Ben Raichel led all scorers with 18 off the bench for Taylor, netting five three-pointers on five attempts, while Tommy Peller added 16. Center Jake Burkholder picked up a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds, including eight on the defensive end.

The first half featured four lead changes before the Trojans took over for good with a Raichel three-pointer with 5:28 left to play in the first half. Taylor used a 10-6 run, including the final five of the frame to carry a 36-29 advantage into the break.

The Trojans quickly built up their lead to 15 within the opening three minutes of the second half before a 7-1 Bison run sparked by a Ryan Sheehan three-point play cut it back to 10 just over two minutes later.

Both teams struggled to find the hoop for the following three minutes, but the Trojans then steadily built up to their largest lead of the game at 70-49 with just over a minute to play. Nichols capitalized on a pair of late Marlon Bennett steals to sink the final two buckets for the 70-53 final.

The Bison dominated the paint with a 34-22 point advantage, and used their transition game to post 12 fast-break points. Taylor, however, held a 34-29 margin in rebounds and scored 12 second-chance points to the Bison's six.

Taylor improves to 12-2, while Nichols will look to snap a five-game skid tomorrow against Stevenson at 6 p.m. at the Ocean Center.

Box Score