CHICAGO, Ill. -- In a game that featured 19 lead changes, four Trojans finished in double figures, but a second half push from the host St. Xavier Cougars resulted in a 90-80 road loss for Trinity International on Saturday afternoon. Senior center Nate Ball led TIU with 21 points and nine rebounds on the day.

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TIU jumped out to an early lead, as Thomas Amrine got the game underway with the first of his trio of three-pointers. The Trojans' lead reached six points after a pair of free throws from Ball at the 17:17 mark.

St. Xavier claimed their first lead when Jack Krieger's three went down with 12:34 to play in the first half. Both sides traded the lead back and forth throughout the rest of the half, but after a David Chatman dunk with 30 seconds left until the break, the Cougars answered with two quick scores to take a 42-40 lead at the half.

Trinity were unable to move back in front during the second half, as SXU started out on a quick 5-1 run to go up by six, with 18:12 to play. Twice the Trojans would pull to within a point, but couldn't take a lead. After Justin Peeples completed a three-point play on a drive with 15:12 to play, a four-minute scoring drought would lead to a 13-2 run for SXU that gave the Cougars a 12-point advantage, 67-55 midway through the second half.

The Cougars would go up by as much as 14 points before TIU would rally; Peeples three-pointer started the run, with free throws from Amrine and Ball made it a six-point game, 73-67 with 7:25 remaining.

The Cougars stretched their lead to double-digits again, but with under two minutes to play, Sam Salem's three-pointer brought the Trojans to within five, 81-76. Trinity would look to foul and close the deficit further, but St. Xavier would go 7-for-10 from the free throw line over the final ninety seconds to secure the win.

Salem finished with 17 points on the day, along with five assists, while going 5-for-6 from the field. Amrine collected 14 points, while Peeples had ten points with six assists.

"We played with much more passion tonight, which we will need going forward," said head coach Boomer Roberts. "We didn't make enough plays in the second half to win the game, but I liked out attitude and effort. Our league is so tough, and it doesn't get easier with our final week of the regular season."

The Trojans return to Van Dixhorn Arena this Wednesday, for their final home game of the season. TIU will honor their six seniors as part of the Senior Night festivities, as the Trojans take on Robert Morris starting at 7:30 p.m. "Our seniors have meant so much to the TIU Basketball program," said Roberts. "We will be focused in giving them a great team effort at home on Wednesday."