Men's Basketball drops matchup with #1 Cardinal Stritch
Greg Gorham
Box Score Box Score | Season Stats
DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Junior Nate Ball led Trinity International with 15 points on the night, but a second-half run from the No. 1 Cardinal Stritch Wolves finished off a pesky Trojans squad, 86-68, Wednesday night in the Meyer Sports Complex. Trinity International kept things close before the halftime break, but a 20-7 turnover difference ended up costing TIU in the end.
After the Wolves got out to an early lead, Trinity International (3-21, 1-12 CCAC) briefly jumped out in front with a three-pointer from James Glass, 6-5. As a team the Trojans knocked down five treys in the first half, and shot 62.5% (5-8) from long range before the break.
Cardinal Stritch (22-3, 14-0 CCAC) answered with eight straight points to claim a 13-6 advantage at the 10:52 mark of the first half. The Trojans chipped away at the deficit, with three-pointers from Thomas Amrine, Sam Salem, Glass, and Matt Heber. Heber's trey with 6:43 to play in the first half put TIU on top once again, 23-22.
With the Wolves looking to pull away at the end of the half, junior Justin Peeples scored while drawing the foul at the 1:03 mark. The Chicago, Ill. native connected on the following free throw, making it a four-point game, 33-29.
Stritch scored the final four points of the half, however, pushing their advantage to 37-29. The Wolves took advantage of 10 Trojan turnovers, converting then into 11 points, compared to TIU's three points off turnovers in the half.
Using a 21-6 run to start the second half, CSU took command of the game, building a 23-point lead with 13:39 to play. The TIU offense struggled to keep up, allowing another 18 points off turnovers after halftime.
Glass contributed nine points on the night, nearly reaching double figures and recording his highest point total since Dec. 3. Salem and Amrine each finished with eight points for the Trojans.
TIU will travel to Trinity Christian this Saturday, for a CCAC matchup set for 3:00 p.m. The next home game for the Trojans comes Monday night, February 10, against Purdue-North Central, at 7;00 p.m.
