ELGIN, Ill. - Trailing by a narrow margin at the half, No. 17 Trinity International rallied at the start of the second half to overtake the host Judson Eagles on Wednesday night, earning the team's 21st victory of the season 80-78.

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"We are getting everyone's best shot, but we keep finding ways to get it done," said TIU head coach Boomer Roberts after the win, which secures no worse than a No. 2 seed in the CCAC Tournament beginning later this month. "Coach [Brian] Thrift and Judson played really hard, and forced us to make some great plays late to win the game."

Trailing 40-38 at the halftime break, sophomore guard Jeremy Carlyle put Trinity (21-4, 14-2 CCAC) back in the lead with two three-pointers on back-to-back possessions, as part of a 10-0 run that saw the Trojans grab 48-40 lead with 17:05 to play.

Judson would fight to stay in the game, as Trinity's eight-point advantage would end up being their largest of the night. Four different times, the Eagles (7-16, 4-13 CCAC) cut the lead to just two points, but were never able to even the score in the second half. 

"We guarded much better in the second half," added Roberts. The Trojan defense allowed Judson to shoot 51.7% from the field before the break, but just 36.8% (14-38) in the second half. "Jeremy and Greg [Carlyle]'s speed was a major factor, and both of them hit some huge shots to keep our lead. We continue to get some great minutes from our bench guys, which helps wear our opponents down. I'm proud of our guys for competing and earning a tough road win tonight."

Senior forward Zach Kirschbaum paced the Trojans with 18 points, as four players finished in double figures on the night. Freshman T.J. Johnson finished with 13 points on 3-of-3 shooting from beyond the arc, while Jeremy Carlyle posted 12 points and Henry French finished with 10.

Trinity returns home, for their next-to-last regular season game inside Van Dixhorn Arena. The Trojans will host Roosevelt for a 7:00 p.m. match on Saturday, February 4.