ANGOLA, Ind. – The Wilmington College men’s basketball team erupted for 53 first-half points to close out the 2017 year with a 94-76 victory at Trine University on Monday.

The Fightin’ Quakers built a 17-point advantage 10 minutes into the game thanks to three triples from Nathan Scott and two from Christian Jones. The Thunder would get within 10 points at 39-29, but Wilmington ended the first half on a 14-4 run to take an 18-point advantage into the break.

Trine (3-6) pulled within 14 points early in the second half, but a 7-2 run from the Quakers using baskets from Christian Jones and Jordan Jones put the lead back up to 19 points and effectively ended any threat of the hosts coming back.

Wilmington shot 36-of-86 (52.9 percent) from the field in the game, including 14-of-33 (42.4 percent) from beyond the three-point arc.

Scott, who scored 25 points in the first half, finished 6-of-10 from distance and led all scorers with 27 points. The effort tied his career-high in scoring as the Sardinia, Ohio, also poured in 27 points against Heidelberg on Jan. 21, 2017.

Christian Jones scored 24 points on 5-of-10 shooting from distance, and together with Scott, tallied 54 percent of the Quakers’ offense.

“Anytime we make shots, it energizes our team,” head coach K.C. Hunt said. “Our energy, effort and execution were the best they have been in two weeks tonight.”

Trine finished 28-of-64 (43.8 percent) from the field and was led by the trio of Maurice Hunter (20 points), Langston Johnson (19 points) and Myles Copeland (19 points). Wilmington won the rebounding battle 41-34 while dishing out 19 assists.

The Quakers (4-6) will resume their season in the New Year when Wilmington picks up Ohio Athletic Conference (OAC) play at Capital University on Jan. 3.