Late run pushes Trojans past Valor Christian
Greg Gorham
Box Score Box Score | Season Stats
NAPERVILLE, Ohio -- Five players finished in double figures, as the Trinity International Trojans picked up their second victory of the early season, 88-79, over the Valor Christian (Ohio) Warriors in the final game of the Chicago Marriott Naperville Tip-Off Tournament, hosted by North Central University.
Freshman center Andy Stauffer led the Trojans (2-6) with a team-high 20 points, while junior Nate Ball and freshman Blake Mann both picked up double-doubles in the win. Mann recorded 16 points and 11 rebounds in the win, while Ball had his fifth double-double of the year with 14 points and 11 rebounds.
In his first collegiate start, freshman Thomas Amrine picked up 19 points on 7-of-15 shooting, including a trio of three-pointers on the day.
Trinity International got off to a strong start thanks to their rebounding game, pullind down the first four boards before the Warriors had a single rebound, and used that advantage to build a quick 6-0 lead in the opening two minutes of play. The Trojans maintained a narrow lead throughout much of the opening ten minutes, as Mann's layup at the 9:30 mark of the first half stretched the TIU advantage to 22-14, their largest lead of the first half.
After the Warriors called a timeout to kill the Trojan momentum, Valor Christian answered with a 14-2 run, and taking a 28-24 lead with 5:59 to play until the half. Amrine knocked down one of his three treys to bring TIU back and tie the game at 31-31 just inside the five-minute mark, then after a pair of VCC free throws saw the Warriors back in front, hit another three to make it a 34-33 Trojan edge.
TIU would go into the halftime break with a 38-37 lead, thanks in part to a 22-18 advantage of points in the paint, and a balanced scoring attack that saw six players with at least five points at the half.
After Valor Christian's Victor Boggs completed a three-point play to put his team ahead 40-38 to open up the second half, TIU opened up a 7-1 run, highlighted by five points from Stauffer, to lead 45-41 with 16:36 to play. TIU would again stay in front by a small margin until midway through the half, as the Warriors chipped away and finally went in front with a Jordan Washington three-pointer, 60-58.
With six minutes to play and Valor Christian holding a four-point edge, Mann went to work, quickly erasing their lead and tying the score at 72-72 with his layup at the 4:45 mark. The bucket was part of a 14-0 run that changed a four-point Trojan defecit into a 10 point lead in just three and a half minutes. Suddenly holding a double-digit lead in the waning minutes, the Trojans shot 4-of-6 from the free throw line down the stretch to close out the nine-point victory.
Sophomore Sam Salem had a strong performance coming off the bench, picking up 12 points and dealing out a game-high eight assists in the win, and playing a starter-like 35 minutes of action.
The Trojans will now prepare for the start of the CCAC season, when they travel to Roosevelt on Wednesday, October 20. Tipoff against the Lakers is set for 7:30 p.m.
