DEERFIELD, Ill. - The senior duo of
Zach Kirschbaum and
Grant Corsi led the way Tuesday night, each finishing with a double-double as Trinity International took a 76-48 home victory over the Judson Eagles inside Van Dixhorn Arena.
Box Score | Season Stats
Both Trojans finished with 19 points on the night, as Kirschbaum brought down a game-high 15 rebounds and Corsi posted a career-high ten boards in the win. Senior guard
Luke Mead pitched in with ten points off the bench.
The Trojans (6-2, 1-1 CCAC) held their opponents to a season-low point total, as Judson (4-2, 1-2 CCAC) shot just 25.4% (16-63) from the field and committed 19 turnovers, leading to 17 points for TIU.
"I am so proud of our group," said TIU Head Coach
Boomer Roberts after the win. "As a staff, we were all over our guys for the last week about how we need to get tougher, both mentally and physically. I thought our guys were terrific tonight, especially on the defensive end. We were flat out competing. Henry [French], Zach, and Grant led that tonight, and then Zach and Grant had it going on the other end."
Trinity jumped out early, with Corsi scoring six of the team's first ten points and TIU taking a 15-6 lead at the 14:13 mark following a
Sean Smith free throw. Judson would cut the lead down to three after a Justin Allen three-pointer, but the Trojans would keep the visitors from recording another field goal for nearly six minutes, scoring 12 unanswered to take a 30-15 advantage with 4:52 to play in the first half. The Trojans would go up by as much as 20 on
Jeremy Carlyle's three-pointer, going into the break leading 39-19.
The Eagles would come out strong, going on a 10-2 run to open the second half. Trinity would be able to maintain their lead however, as the defense clamped down and forced Judson to miss 17 of their next 18 shot attempts, spanning nine minutes of the second half. TIU would close out the game scoring nine of the final ten points to secure the win.
Kirschbaum finishes with his CCAC-leading sixth double-double of the season, while Corsi posts his first double-double as a Trojan.
"Judson is much improved, and will win their fair share of games in our league," added Roberts. "But tonight we were locked in, and when we see that kind of effort we like our chances against anyone. We're looking forward to going to Arizona, spending time as a family and continuing to push and get better as a team."
The Trojans are back in action Friday night, when they begin a two-game road swing in Phoenix, Ariz. over Thanksgiving Break. Tipoff against hosts Arizona Christian on Friday, November 25 is set for 8:30 p.m. Central, followed by a rematch from last year against Benedictine-Mesa, on Saturday, November 26, at 5:00 p.m Central.