DEERFIELD, Ill. - Five players recorded double-figures, as Trinity International would lead wire-to-wire in a 91-76 home victory over the Calumet St. Joseph Crimson Wave, inside Van Dixhorn Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Box Score | Season Stats
Jeremy Carlyle would finish with a team-high 21 points, while
Grant Corsi posted 20 points, his highest total in nearly a month.
Zach Kirschbaum would collect 16, while
Luke Mead and
Sean Smith came off the bench to tally 11 and 10 points, each.
The Trojans (11-3, 4-1 CCAC) took control of the game early on thanks to their efforts on the defensive end, holding Calumet (3-7, 2-4 CCAC) to just eight points over the opening 12 minutes of play. A 21-2 run for the Trojans during that time allowed the home team to build up a 23-point advantage, 31-8, with 8:19 left to play in the first half.
"To be able to keep our focus high after a huge win, especially against a conference opponent, was what we were looking for tonight," said TIU head coach
Boomer Roberts after his team's fifth straight victory. "For the most part, especially the first half, I thought out guys did a tremendous job with that."
Calumet would chip away at the deficit throughout the rest of the game, and out-scored Trinity 9-2 to close the first half to trail 51-30 at the break. Kirschbaum, Carlyle, and Corsi scored 12, 11, and 10 points respectively in the first half to pace the Trojans, who used a total of six three-pointers to help grow their lead.
The Crimson Wave quickly cut the 21-point halftime lead down to 11, hitting a pair of three-pointers during a 10-0 run that made it a 51-40 Trojan advantage with 17:32 still to play. After calling a timeout, the Trojans responded, eventually going back up by 20 on Mead's fast-break layup at the 12:29 mark. Trinity would hold on the rest of the way, as Calumet were unable to pull within single digits the rest of the way.
"Calumet made some adjustments, but our guys kept competing on both ends," said Roberts. "Jeremy hit some big shots again, and Grant was very good both scoring the ball and on the glass. I also thought Greg [Carlyle], Luke, and Henry [French] made a lot of plays with the pass without turning it over, which was big for us."
The Trojans will rest up over the next week, as a break in their schedule allows for Trinity's finals week. TIU will be back in action again on Saturday, December 17, when they travel to face the Governors State Jaguars at 3 p.m.
