DEERFIELD, Ill. -- Trinity International held their opponents to a season-low 47 points, and looked dominant on both ends of the court in a 71-47 Trojan victory over the Holy Cross Saints, Saturday afternoon at Van Dixhorn Arena. Three players finished in double figures for TIU, led by
Justin Peeples with 13 points, while
Nate Ball picked up his third double-double of the year, with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
Box Score | Season Stats | CCAC StandingsThe Saints claimed their first lead of the day on a layup from O'Brien Hobbs a little over a minute into the game. Ball would tie the score on the next possession, then even the game at 4-4 with another jumper with 16:32 in the first half. The Trojans would move out in front on a pair of
Dillon Wadsack free throws, then
Sam Salem's layup at the 14:12 mark ended up putting Trinity in front 8-6, a lead that the home team would not give up the rest of the game.
Trinity slowly pulled away from Holy Cross throughout the rest of the first half, as Ball gave his team their first double-digit lead with a layup midway through the first, 21-10 with 9:58 on the clock. TIU would go up by as much as 23 before the break, with a
David Chatman layup that made it a 37-14 edge with 4:04 remaining.
Justin Peeples knocked down a three-pointer at the buzzer to give the Trojans a 42-20 halftime lead. The senior had a game-high 10 points in the first half, before finishing the night going 5-of-11 from the field, and 3-of-6 from long-range.
The Trojans' lead would never break 20 points in the second half, with the Saints pulling to within that number three times in the opening minutes, but never getting any closer. A quick 8-0 run for the Trojans, highlighted by six points from
Dillon Wadsack, would put the game away for good.
All nine players who saw the floor for TIU scored on Saturday, with the Trojan bench picking up a combined 25 points in the win. Wadsack led the group with eight points, while
Sean Smith went 3-for-3 from the field to finish with seven.
The fourth victory in a row marks the longest winning streak for Trinity International since the 2006-07 season, when the Trojans won six straight to close the regular season and take the CCAC Tournament title, from Feb. 10-26.
The Trojans hit the road next week, then they look to keep their winning ways by visiting the Indiana-South Bend Titans. Tipoff is set for Wednesday, January 14, at 6:30 Central/7:30 Eastern.