Trojans fall in road matchup at Trinity Christian
Greg Gorham
Box Score
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PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. -- Four players finish in double figures, led by junior Nate Ball's 23 points, but the Trinity International Trojans ultimately fell to the Trinity Christian Trolls, 96-81 on Saturday afternoon. The Trojans trailed by just a single point at the half, and briefly held a one-point lead after the halftime break, but were outscored 49-35 in the second half.
Trinity Christian (8-17, 4-10 CCAC) jumped out to a quick 7-0 lead with a pair of three-pointers on their first two possessions, including a four-point play after drawing a foul on the opening play of the game. The Troll lead reached as much as nine points in the early minutes after TCC's Ezekiel Odonkor scored on a layup at the 17:40 mark of the first half.
The Trojans (3-22, 1-13 CCAC) battled back with a seven-point run of their own, capped off with a pair of free throws from freshman Andy Stauffer. Both sides traded the lead back and forth ten times in the first half, with TIU earning their biggest lead of the day on Stauffer's three-pointer at the 9:30 mark of the first half.
With a 44-42 Trojan lead, Trinity Christian scored five straight to reclaim a 47-44 edge with just 30 seconds until halftime. Ball made it a one-point game in the closing seconds with a putback after pulling down the offensive rebound.
Coming out of the break, a pair of Sam Salem free throws would edge Trinity International back in front, 48-47. The Trolls came back with seven unanswered points over the following two minutes, and held their lead for good the rest of the day.
The Trojans never fell out of the game completely, keeping the deficit within single digits throughout much of the second half. TIU trailed by just six points with 2:12 to play following Stauffer's layup, but the Trolls responded with a score on the other end on the following possession.
Trinity Christian went 5-for-6 from the free throw line over the last minute of regulation, keeping the Trojans at bay, while pulling down key rebounds on the defensive end to limit TIU's ability to chip away at the lead.
Ball posted his CCAC-leading 12th double-double, shooting 7-for-10 from the field, and 9-for-11 from the free throw line. Salem collected 17 points, including four three-pointers, while dealing out three assists on the day.
Sophomore Josh Markum matched his career high with 12 points off the bench for the Trojans. All 12 points came off four three-pointers, as the Mission Viejo, Calif. native scored his highest point total since last season's game against Holy Cross on Feb. 18. Stauffer also contributed ten points off the bench, on 3-for-6 shooting from the field.
The Trojans return home on Monday night, February 10, when they host the Purdue-North Central Panthers in a make-up game originally scheduled for Jan. 25. Tipoff against the Panthers is set for 7:00 p.m. inside the Meyer Sports Complex.
