PHOENIX, Ariz. - Five players finished in double figures, led by senior
Zach Kirschbaum's 23 points, as Trinity International pulled away in the second half to secure an 89-84 victory over Benedictine-Mesa (Ariz.) on Saturday night.
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Trailing by one at the half, the Trojans (7-3) scored seven straight in ninety seconds, to re-take the lead. The Redhawks (3-5) rallied a few minutes later, pulling to within a point at the 15:23 mark, but a pair of free throws from Kirschbaum, followed by two straight Mesa turnovers and buckets from
Luke Mead and
Greg Carlyle quickly put Trinity back in front 58-50.
Jeremy Carlyle's fastbreak layup with 11:06 remaining gave the Trojans their largest lead of the night at 69-54, as Trinity held on for the win the rest of the way despite the Redhawks closing the margin down the stretch.
"This was a good team win for us, essentially on the road against an opponent who is just outside the top 25," said TIU head coach
Boomer Roberts after the win. "We left a lot on the floor last night, so we came out a little flat on defense, but were much better in the second half. Benedictine made some strong runs to close gaps when we got bigger leads, but our guys made plays down the stretch."
Trinity's run after the halftime break followed a first half that saw a combined 17 lead changes, with neither side building up more than a four-point advantage at any point in the period. Kirschbaum and
Jeremy Carlyle would pace Trinity with nine points before the break, with the Trojans behind 43-42. "Zach continues to show he's one of the best bigs in the nation, and Jeremy was as aggressive as he's been all year," said Roberts. Kirschbaum also finished with 11 rebounds on the night, securing his eighth double-double in ten games, most in the CCAC.
"We also got great minutes from Henry [French], Sean [Smith], Luke, Greg, T.J. [Johnson], and D.J. [Watkins] tonight," said Roberts. "It makes for a fun plane ride home for us, and gives us great momentum heading into a big week of road CCAC games."
The Trojans resume conference play beginning Wednesday night, when they visit Roosevelt. Tipoff with the Lakers begins at 7:30 p.m.
