Junior guard Tom Norton had the most prolific night of three-point shooting in nearly five years for the Truman men’s basketball team, as his seven triples helped the Bulldogs notch a 76-62 road victory at Grand View (Iowa) University on Thursday night.
After the Bulldogs went just 2-for-8 from long-range in a first half that led to a 29-25 halftime lead, Truman – specifically Norton and freshman Mike Carlson – caught fire in the second half, combining to go 8-for-10 from deep and lead the purple and white to 47 second half points.
The Bulldogs led by as many as 18 with 9:00 minutes to play, but timely baskets and solid free throw shooting helped the host Vikings linger – cutting the deficit to just seven with 4:27 to go.
However, sophomore Marek Bush finished a put-back off a miss and Norton connected on his seventh triple of the night two possessions later to help the ’Dogs push the lead back to 12 at 70-58 with 2:30 to go.
The Bulldog defense clamped down after the lead was cut to seven, as Truman didn’t allow a Grand View field goal in the final four-plus minutes.
The 27 points marked a new career-high for Norton, as his seven three-pointers were the most by any Bulldog since Nick Certa’s seven-triple outing on Feb. 21, 2007 against Emporia State.
He went 8-for-12 from the floor overall (7-for-11 from 3-pt range) and 4-for-4 from the charity stripe to lead all players in scoring.
Junior EJ Hicks scored 14 points on 6-of-9 shooting, while freshman Seth Jackson chipped in 12.
Carlson posted the squad’s most balanced line, finishing the night with nine points, seven assists and six rebounds.
For the game, Truman shot 54% from the field and 56% from long-distance. The ’Dogs out-rebounded GVU 28-26 and held the Vikings to a 42% field goal mark.
Truman (2-2) will be back in action on Saturday afternoon for a 3:00 pm tipoff in St. Louis at Maryville University. Grand View fell to 3-3 with the loss.
Courtesy Truman State University
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