Men's Basketball drops road matchup at Clarke, 87-77
Greg Gorham
Box Score Box Score | Season Stats
DUBUQUE, Iowa -- The Trinity International Trojans held a 41-40 advantage at the half, but shot just 38.2% from the field in the second half, as the Clarke (Iowa) Crusaders would go on to claim a 87-77 win Wednesday night. Freshman Thomas Amrine led the Trojans with 17 points off the bench, as three players finished in double-figures on the night.
The Trojans (1-4) jumped out to an early 8-4 lead, capped off with a jumper from James Glass in the opening minutes. The Crusaders (4-1) rebounded with an 8-2 run of their own to reclaim the lead at the 12:34 mark of the first half. Trinity climbed back into the game when Sean Smith knocked down a jumper with 6:18 in the first half to tie the score at 29-29, during a 9-0 run that put the Trojans in front, 33-29 with five minutes until halftime. TIU would stretch their lead to six with a jumper from Blake Mann, but Clarke put up five points in the final 49 seconds to close the gap to just 41-40 at the break.
Junior Nate Ball scored the first three points of the second half for TIU, but a layup from Clarke's Dominique McKenzie tied the game at 44-44 with 18:21 to play. Clarke used an 11-3 run to take the lead at the 15:00 mark, with a three-pointer to make it a 51-46 game.
Amrine answered with back-to-back treys to put Trinity back in front, 52-51 just two minutes later. The Trojans stretched their lead to seven midway through the second half, when Justin Peeples knocked down a pair of free throws before completing a three-point play, putting his team ahead 59-52 at the 10:27 mark.
Trinity held a narrow lead as late as 4:31 remaining in the game, when Sam Salem hit a jumper to break a 72-72 tie. Clarke scored seven unanswered to claim the lead for good, as the Trojans were able to score just three points over the final 4:30.
Ball, along with freshman Andy Stauffer, finished in double figures with 12 points each. Peeples pulled down seven rebounds to lead the Trojans, while also dealing out a team-high five assists.
The Trojans head to Naperville this Friday and Saturday, where they will compete in the Chicago Marriott Naperville Tip-Off Classic, hosted by North Central University. TIU will face off against DePauw (Ind.) on Friday, before taking on Valor Christian (Ohio) on Saturday.
