WINONA LAKE, Ind. – In the opening game of the 2016 NCCAA Men's Basketball Championship, the 6th-seeded Trinity International Trojans earned the upset, defeating 3rd-seeded Ohio Christian 89-79 on Wednesday afternoon.

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Freshman guard Jeremy Carlyle led the Trojans (20-12) with a game-high 22 points, knocking down a career-high 11 free throws in the win, the most by any TIU player this season.

"I'm so proud of our guys for the way they played today," said TIU head coach Boomer Roberts, after the Trojans secured the program's first 20-win season since 1998-99. "Ohio Christian is a good team, and for the most part we controlled the game."

Trinity started off slow in their first NCCAA appearance since 1999, missing their first five field goal attempts and committing two turnovers before getting on the board at the 16:01 mark. From that point throughout the rest of the day, the Trojans found their rhythm, overcoming any early-game jitters. Ohio Christian (22-10) took a six-point advantage before Greg Carlyle's three-pointer and a Henry French steal-and-layup tied the game at 6-6 with 15:19 to play in the first half. Sean then Smith put the Trojans in front by five, 15-11 at the 12:06 mark with a three-pointer, capping a 13-2 run spanning just over three minutes.

The lead would change hands six more times in the first half; Grant Corsi would tie the game at 25-25 with 6:32 to play until the break with two of his 11 points overall, before James Glass' three-pointer put the Trojans in front for good on the next possession.

Trinity closed out the half on an 11-4 run, taking their largest lead of the half in the closing seconds. Jeremy Carlyle's bucket with nine seconds left gave Trinity the double-digit lead, 44-34, but a quick steal from Carlyle and three-pointer from French gave TIU the momentum and a 47-34 halftime lead.

The Trailblazers started the second half on a 10-4 run to cut into Trinity's lead, 51-44, with four points coming from OCU's Gary Hoover, who finished with eight points on the day. Luke Mead and French answered with two straight buckets to go back up by double figures with 13:39 remaining, but Ohio Christian continued to battle their way back into the game. With 9:13 on the clock, OCU pulled to within two on a Conor Maybry three-pointer, 64-62.

Zach Kirschbaum's bucket on the following possession started a 12-3 run for the Trojans, who started to pull away down the stretch. Over the final three and a half minutes, TIU would go 9-for-10 from the free throw line to ice the game.

"Our response to their second half run was big time," said Roberts. "We made a lot of winning plays down the stretch. Henry, Grant, and the twins took on the challenge of guarding two really good guards, and they were locked in. Zach and James played well inside, and we stuck free throws when we needed to. Considering we're a team who didn't have any experience in the postseason, I thought our guys really brought it."

Kirschbaum would finish with 15 points, going 7-for-14 from the field with six rebounds. French and Corsi posted 12 and 11 points, respectively.

The Trojans will now advance to the NCCAA National Semifinal, set for Thursday night at 6:00 p.m. CDT. Trinity will look to pull off their second upset in as many days when they take on the 2nd-seeded Southwestern Christian (Okla.) Eagles, who defeated Bluefield (Va.) in their quarterfinal matchup. Live streaming video of tomorrow's semifinal is available at TIUTrojans.com, with a $6.95 pay-per-view fee. Live stats will also be online for no cost.