ELGIN, Ill. -- Senior center
Nate Ball finished with a game-high 22 points, as the Trinity International Trojans begin the 2014-15 season with an 81-67 victory over the Clarke Crusaders. The win gives the Trojans a 1-0 start to the season for the third straight year.
Box ScoreFour Trojans finished in double figures, as starters
Thomas Amrine and
David Chatman finished with 12 points apiece. Freshman
Joshua Ajayi came off the bench to contribute 11 points as well.
Trinity got off to a bit of a slow start offensively, as the Crusaders took a 7-0 lead in the opening minutes. Amrine knocked down the first shot of the season, one of his four three-pointers on the night, as TIU battled back to take a 13-12 lead on Ball's layup at the 12:44 mark of the first half.
Neither side were able to pull away in the first half, but another trey from Amrine with 22 seconds remaining gave TIU a 40-35 halftime lead. Trinity shot an even 40.0% before the break, compared to a 56.5% clip for the Crusaders.
Ball opened the second half with two quick scores, then Ajayi pushed the Trojan lead to double digits with one of his two three-pointers with 16:46 to play. Clarke made a run midway through the second half, closing the gap to within five points after scoring seven unanswered.
Sam Salem stopped the run with a trey, keeping the Trojans in front by a 63-55 margin.
Putting the game away, TIU went on an 8-0 run, and with about minutes to play TIU build their largest lead of the night with a
Josh Markum three-pointer that gave the TIU a 16-point edge, at 75-59.
Both sides finished with an even 29 rebounds apiece, with Ball pulling down a game-high eight boards. TIU won the turnover battle, giving the ball away 14 times, compared to Clarke's 19. The Trojans took advantage, scoring 22 points off turnovers.
With the win, Trinity earns a bit of revenge on the Crusaders; Clarke defeated the Trojans last season on their home court, 87-77.
Trinity International are back in action Saturday afternoon, when they match up against the Mount Mercy Mustangs, who comfortably took an 84-63 win over host Judson later Friday night. Tipoff against the Mustangs is set for 1:00 p.m. inside the Linder Fitness Center, on the campus of Judson University.
