DEERFIELD, Ill. -- In the new Van Dixhorn Arena, and in front of a newly-revived and rowdy student section, the Trinity International Trojans struggled to find their shooting rhythm, falling to the Grace (Ind.) Lancers, 81-61. The Trojans shot 27.0% from the field, going 17-of-63 on the night, including a 5-for-24 performance from three-point range.

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Forward James Glass led the Trojans with 14 points off the bench, while senior center Nate Ball just missed out on a double-double for the third straight game, with nine points and ten boards. Dillon Wadsack, in his first home game since 2012-13, tallied 12 points in 15 minutes of action.

Sophomore Thomas Amrine properly christened the new gym, knocking down a three-pointer from the corner, in the first shot attempt in the game. The Trojans briefly held the lead, until the first of six three-pointers from Grace's Niko Read gave the Lancers a 7-5 edge with 17:37 in the first half.

A quick 5-0 run put TIU back in front, as Justin Peeples knocked down the trey with 15:10 to play until halftime, giving the Trojans the 12-9 lead. The Lancers responded with a 12-2 run, building a lead they would hold the rest of the night.

Grace stretched their lead to double-digits at the 6:23 mark, when Kyle Fillman finished the fast-break layup as part of ten unanswered for the Lancers. The Trojans went into the halftime break with a 17-point deficit; Glass posted ten points to lead Trinity in the first half, but the team went just 10-of-33 from the field.

The lead grew to 26 points in the opening minutes of the second half, before the Trojans made run to cut into the deficit. Five straight points from Wadsack kick-started a 13-0 run for Trinity, which included a three-point play from Justin Peeples, and four straight free throws from Ball. With ten minutes to play, the Trojans were back in the ballgame.

Twice the lead would dip to ten points, after a three-pointer from Wadsack, then again after a Grace layup and pair of free throws from David Chatman with 6:06 remaining. Trinity would go on to score just four points the rest of the way, however, as the Lancers finished with a 14-4 run to put the game away.

TIU will bounce back tomorrow, and cap off the LaQuinta Classic with a matchup against Taylor (Ind.). The battle of the Trojans tips off at 8:00 p.m.