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TRINITY INTERNATIONAL TROJANS (0-0) vs. CLARKE CRUSADERS (0-0)
Friday, October 31 | 5:00 p.m.
Linder Fitness Center | Elgin, Ill.
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TRINITY INTERNATIONAL TROJANS (0-0) vs. MOUNT MERCY MUSTANGS (0-0)
Saturday, November 1 | 1:00 p.m.
Linder Fitness Center | Elgin, Ill.
Game Notes | Twitter Updates
2013-14 Season Stats: TIU | Clarke | Mount Mercy
Quick Notes
• A new era begins for Trinity International basketball Friday night, as first-year head coach Boomer Roberts and the Trojans face off against a pair of Iowa programs in the Judson University Classic in Elgin, Ill. The new season begins on Oct. 31, at the Trojans take on the Clarke Crusaders at 5:00 p.m., followed by a matchup with the Mount Mercy Mustangs on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 1:00 p.m.
• Trinity International has gone 1-2 against the Crusaders over the past 11 seasons, last meeting a year ago in Dubuque. Clarke took an 87-77 win on Nov. 13, 2013. The last TIU win came on Nov. 10, 2009, when the Trojans claimed a 99-86 road victory.
• The Trojans have gone up against Mount Mercy nine times over the last 11 years, but have won just one of those matchups. TIU snapped an eight-game losing streak to the Mustangs at the 2012 LaQuinta Classic, taking a 64-63 overtime victory at home.
• The Trojans were 5-25 last season, including a 3-16 mark in the Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference. The team's five wins were the lowest total since 2011-12, and the second-lowest in the past 11 seasons.
• Trinity returns 77.2% of its scoring output from last season, as the top four scorers from a year ago return for the 2014-15 season. TIU also brings back 63.2% of it's rebounding production from last year.
Roster Breakdown
• In addition to the nine returners from last season, the Trojans also bring back senior guard Dillon Wadsack, who missed last season to injury. Wadsack was TIU's second-leading scorer in 2012-13, averaging 14.0 points per game while shooting 54.7% from the field.
• Three newcomers join the Trojans this year, in junior David Chatman, sophomore Deon Garrett, and freshman Joshua Ajayi. At Kishwaukee CC last season, Chatman averaged 8.0 points and 6.6 rebounds per game, while shooting 57.5% from the field. Garrett collected over seven points and six boards as a freshman at Ventura (Calif.) College.
Last Time Out vs. Clarke
• 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 jumped out to an early 8-4 lead, capped off with a jumper from James Glass in the opening minutes. The Crusaders 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.
League Leaders
• Senior center Nate Ball finished last season as the CCAC leader in rebounds, averaging 8.9 boards per game. The Galena, Ill. native also recorded 3.6 offensive rebounds per game, good for the league lead, and fifth-most in the NAIA.
• Guard Thomas Amrine was one of the nation's best three-point shooters as a freshman last year, knocking down 2.83 treys each game. Amrine ranked third in the CCAC, and 17th in the NAIA in three-pointers made per game, shooting at a 42.7% clip, fourth-best in the conference.
• Amrine finished the year with the 26th-highest scoring average in the CCAC, with 11.9 points per game, but was second among freshmen in the conference.
• Justin Peeples recorded the CCAC's third-best free throw percentage, shooting 84.6% from the charity stripe. The senior ranked 17th in the NAIA last year in free throw percentage, going 99-for-117 on the season.
Last Time Out vs. Mount Mercy
• The Trojans and Mustangs last met up in 2012-13, at Trinity International's LaQuinta Classic. TIU took a 64-63 win in overtime.
• Three Trojans finished in double figures, led by then-sophomore Nate Ball, who finished with 13 points on 5-of-16 shooting. Ball nearly picked up a double-double in the win, with nine rebounds. Daniel Metzelfeld, now an assistant coach with the TIU women's basketball program, finished with 11 points, while Allen Lott collected 10 points.
• Mount Mercy held a small lead throughout most of the game; trailing by seven points with 1:47 to play in regulation, the Trojans finished on an 8-1 run, as a Demontay Robinson jumper tied the game with just a second on the clock.
• After the Mustangs went ahead with 18 seconds left in overtime, Metzelfeld hit a game-winning three pointer with three seconds left to give TIU a 2-0 start to the season.
(175), field goal percentage (.547), and assists (119).
Trojans in the Polls
• Trinity International has appeared in the NAIA Division II Coaches Poll 21 times in program history, but not since the 1997-98 campaign.
• TIU's last ranking came on Jan. 6, 1998, when the Trojans came in at No. 20.
• The highest ranking in program history was during the 1995-96 season, when Trinity was at No. 3 in the Jan. 22, 1996 poll.
