CHICAGO, Ill. - Trinity International would lead by as much as 13 in the first half, but the host Roosevelt Lakers would rally, getting a shot at a potential game-winning shot before the Trojans held on for an 80-79 victory on Wednesday night.
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The Trojans (8-3, 2-1 CCAC) never trailed, but after a turnover with 13 seconds remaining, Roosevelt (4-5, 2-2 CCAC) had a chance to steal the game, but a running floater from RU's Kyle Bumbalough wouldn't fall.
"This was a big time college basketball game tonight," said TIU head coach
Boomer Roberts after the win. "I have incredible respect for Coach Griffin, his staff, and players. They are as tough as anyone we'll play this year, but I thought our group showed some real maturity to not fold down the stretch, and we earned a huge conference road win."
A layup with a foul for
Zach Kirschbaum would give the Trojans a 30-17 advantage with 6:18 to play in the first half for their largest lead of the night. After Trinity finished the first half with a 40-36 lead, Roosevelt would rally, evening the score with a three-pointer at the 17:57 mark of the second period. The Trojans would respond with a 14-3 run over the next three minutes to rebuild a double-digit lead, and
Sean Smith's three-pointer at the 13:32 mark would make it a 58-46 Trinity lead.
Over the rest of the second half, Roosevelt would climb back into the game, with a pair of free throws closing the gap to three points, 74-71 with 3:55 to play. The Trojans would hold onto their lead, but it would be a one-possession game nearly the rest of the way. Kirschbaum connected on another layup while drawing a foul, hitting the free throw with 1:32 left to put TIU ahead 80-76. Roosevelt would quickly score again to make it a two-point game, then went 1-for-2 at the free throw line to pull within one before ultimately missing on the buzzer-beater.
"It seemed like everything that could go wrong went wrong," said Roberts. "But our guys kept the faith and never gave up the lead. Zach overcame some first half struggles with several clutch buckets, and Henry [French], Grant [Corsi], and the twins had some great defensive possessions. Luke [Mead] and Sean gave us really good minutes off the bench, and then Grant and Jeremy [Carlyle] continued to bury shots. Those two have played really well on the offensive end, which is what they are capable of."
Kirschbaum finished the night with a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds, earning his ninth double-double in 11 games this season.
Grant Corsi posted 16 points, while
Greg Carlyle came off the bench to shoot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field for 14 points in the win.
Jeremy Carlyle also finished in double figures, going for 13 points with three three-pointers.
Trinity is back in action Saturday afternoon, when they wrap up the current road trip with a visit to Hammond, Ind. to face the Purdue-Northwest Pride. Tipoff on Dec. 3 is set for 3:00 p.m.
