Trojans drop road matchup with Holy Cross
Greg Gorham
Box Score Box Score | Season Stats
NOTRE DAME, Ind. -- Junior Nate Ball led the team with 14 points, as the Trinity International Trojans dropped Saturday's road CCAC matchup with the Holy Cross Saints, 79-62. The Trojans looked poised to complete a comeback run, rallying to within six points of the Saints in the second half, but struggled offensively and was held without a field goal over the final nine minutes of regulation.
Holy Cross (13-5, 6-1 CCAC) opened the game with back-to-back threes, taking a 6-2 lead within the first minute of play. The Trojans (3-14, 1-5 CCAC) would tie the score at 18-18 with a trey by Thomas Amrine at the 12:16 mark, as part of an 8-2 run that erased the early deficit. After a pair of Saint free throws, freshman Andy Stauffer would tie the game again with a layup on the following possession.
Holy Cross would reclaim the lead with an 8-0 run over the next 2:10, jumping out to a 28-20 edge. TIU would again close the gap, as Blake Mann's three-pointer at the 4:36 mark would make it a one-possession game, at 34-32. The Saints would outscore the Trojans throughout the end of the first half 14-5, and take a 48-37 lead into halftime.
After the Trojans went behind by as much as 13 in the early moments of the second half, TIU chipped away at the Holy Cross lead, cutting the advantage to nine points on Justin Peeples' free throw at the 14:32 mark. An 8-1 run by the Saints stretched their lead again, this time to 16 points, 64-48, with 11:23 to play.
Taking over the TIU offense, Mann led a rally that helped close the gap midway through the second half. The freshman scored six points for the Trojans during a 9-0 run that saw the lead dwindle to just seven points with 7:41 remaining in regulation. After trading a few baskets, Peeples drew a foul while shooting a three-pointer; the Chicago native knocked down all three free throws, pulling the Trojans to within six points, 67-61, with 6:12 to play.
The Saints would close the door on Trinity from that point forward; Holy Cross answered with six straight points of their own, and a 12-1 run overall to close out the game.
Peeples finished with 13 points on 4-of-10 shooting and a 4-of-7 performance from the free throw line. Amrine also posted double-figures, collecting 11 points on the day.
The Trojans return home this Wednesday, when they host Indiana-South Bend, in a double-header with the TIU women's team. Tipoff is set for 7:30 p.m., inside the Meyer Sports Complex.
