WINONA LAKE, Ind. - Trailing by one with just under a minute to play, Trinity Interational were unable to complete the comeback, falling to the Andrews (Mich.) Cardinals 78-71 at the Grace (Ind.) Lancer Tipoff Classic.

Box Score

After a pair of free throws from Grant Corsi capped a 6-0 run for the Trojans (0-1) to make it a 72-71 Andrews lead with 56 seconds remaining, the Trojans (0-1) would miss on three potential go-ahead or game-tying shots in the closing moments. Trinity battled back from a 14-point deficit with eight and a half minutes to play, fueled in part by eight points down the stretch from Kirschbaum, but were unable to even the score before the end of regulation.

"We didn't play consistently for 40 minutes today," said TIU head coach Boomer Roberts. "Our positive spurts were good, but our lulls were too much to overcome. If we want to reach our goals, we need to fix that."

The Trojans held a narrow lead throughout much of a low-scoring first half. Andrews would tie the score on five different occasions before moving in front with a free throw at the 8:47 mark, 19-18. Trinity would battle back, as Grant Corsi's jumper with 3:23 to play in the first half would put the Trojans back in front 33-31.

Andrews would open the second half with five straight to go up 43-36, and eventually take a 66-52 lead for their largest advantage of the day with 8:26 remaining. Kirschbaum would hit a pair of free throws with 7:25 on the clock to cut the deficit back to single-digits, and two more free throws with 5:00 left would make it a three-point game, 68-65. As Trinity worked to close the gap down the stretch, Andrews went a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line to close out the game.

Senior forward Zach Kirschbaum led the Trojans with a double-double, finishing with a team-high 17 points and 12 rebounds. Three other Trojans finished in double figures, with Luke Mead scoring 14, and Henry French and Greg Carlyle each posting ten points each.

"I know there are a lot of guys in the locker room who are down, because we didn't play to our capabilities, and that should hurt," said Roberts. "But we need to bounce back quickly and play better tomorrow, and I'm confident that our leaders will set the tone early." The Trojans are back in action tomorrow morning, when they face East-West University (Ill.) beginning at 11:00 a.m.