NAPERVILLE, Ill. -- Senior guard Justin Peeples led Trinity International for the third straight game, with 16 points on the night, but a late run in the closing minutes kept North Central in front, as the Trojans fell 81-64 to the host Cardinals in the Chicago Marriott Naperville Tip-Off Classic.

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The Trojans led after Dillon Wadsack's jumper at the 17:20 mark of the first half, but a score from the Cardinals on the next possession put North Central into the lead, where they would stay the rest of the night. A 10-0 run starting with that bucket put NCC in front 13-4, before one of Thomas Amrine's four three-pointers on the night stopped the rally and brought the Trojans to within six.

North Central built a double-digit lead through the rest of the first half, and went into the halftime break with a 42-28 lead. Trinity struggled to keep the Cardinals off the board, getting out-rebounded 26-15 in the first half, but a 34.5% (10-29) shooting performance also struggled to keep TIU in front.

TIU came out strong in the start of the second half, when Amrine scored five straight, and Nate Ball put back an offensive rebound to close the gap to seven, at 44-37. The Cardinals turned the momentum around, gaining another double-digit lead, going up by as much as 14 on a three-pointer from NCC's Joe Kennel with 11:43 to play.

In the closing minutes, Peeples brought the Trojans to within five points with a free throw, capping a 6-0 run with 3:58 remaining. Except for a jumper from David Chatman two possessions later, however, the Trojans would be held scoreless the rest of the way, as North Central closed out the game.

Amrine finished with 14 points, on 4-of-9 shooting from beyond the arc, finishing as the team's second-leading scorer.

"Once again we were hanging around but struggled to finish," head coach Boomer Roberts commented after the game. "We couldn't find the right combination of effort and smarts when we needed it. Down five with four minutes to play, we didn't finish well. We'll continue to grind to get better."

The Trojans turn around for a big game tomorrow night, Sunday, November 23. Trinity will take on the defending NCAA Division III national champs, Wisconsin-Whitewater, in the second game of the Tip-Off Classic. Saturday's game is set for a 7:30 p.m. start.