TIU Men's Basketball suffer CCAC loss at #11 St. Xavier
Greg Gorham
Box Score Box Score | Season Stats
CHICAGO, Ill. -- Junior Nate Ball led Trinity International with 15 points, as one of four players to finish in double-figures, but the Trojans ultimately suffered a 108-81 road loss to the 11th-ranked St. Xavier Cougars, Tuesday night at the Shannon Center. The Cougars would shoot over fifty percent on the night, putting up a season-high point total against TIU.
The Trojans (2-10, 0-3 CCAC) had a solid offensive performance themselves, shooting 49.1% from the field (28-of-57), and knocking down seven treys in the game. The Cougars (7-2, 1-1 CCAC) took a 6-0 lead within the opening minute with a pair of three-pointers of their own, and would lead throughout the rest of the night.
Trinity International would trail 28-11 at the 9:12 mark of the first half, before going on an 8-0 run, highlighted by back-to-back treys from freshman Thomas Amrine. Andy Stauffer would cap off the rally with a fast break layup following a Sam Salem steal, cutting the SXU lead down to single digits with 6:51 to play in the first half. SXU would answer with an 8-2 run of their own to stretch their lead back to 15, at 36-21 at the 5:01 mark.
TIU would go into the break down 53-38, as Ball led with a team-high 11 points before intermission.
St. Xavier would slowly extend their lead in the second half, making it a 20-point game at the 9:40 mark en route to a 108-81 final. Stauffer collected 14 points for the Trojans, off 5-of-10 shooting. James Glass scored 12 points off the bench for TIU, while Justin Peeples posted 10 points. Amrine came up just short of double-figures, but knocked down three treys for nine points on the night.
The Trojans will return home for the first time in over a month, when they take on Trinity Christian inside the Meyer Sports Complex on Saturday, December 7. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m.
