DEERFIELD, Ill. - The TIU Men's Basketball team came up short in their opening game of the CCAC Tournament on Wednesday evening, suffering a 98-87 loss to St. Xavier University inside the Van Dixhorn Arena.

Four Trojans finished in double figures on Wednesday, with Tyrone Carey once again leading TIU in scoring, finishing with a team high 26 points in the loss. Greg Carlyle would add 18 points, O'Shae Williams tallied 17 of his own, and Jeremy Carlyle finished with 16 points to round out the top Trojan performers.

In the opening frame the Trojans battled back and forth with the Cougars, struggling to get things going offensively through the first 10 minutes. After a long range triple from G. Carlyle to take a 35-34 lead with 3:36 to go in the half, the Trojans began to find their shot before the halftime whistle. Thadeous Johnson knocked down a pair of free throws down the stretch while Carey and G. Carlyle added back to back buckets in the final minute to give the Trojans a 43-39 lead going into the locker room.

After a solid finish to the opening half Trinity once again began to struggle on the defensive side of the ball, watching the Cougars knock down three huge buckets to open the half. After a bucket from Niko Cahue with 16:53 left in the half, the Cougars would take back the lead and never relinquish the advantage. The Trojans could not stop the high powered offense of SXU as the Cougars would lead by as much as 14, and shot 69% from the field on the night.

"We struggled in the second half, and St. Xavier shot it great," said Head Coach Boomer Roberts. "Some nights you just don't have it, and tonight was that night for us. We're hopeful to grab and at large berth to the NAIA Tournament."

With the loss the Trojans are now eliminated from the CCAC Tournament and will await the possibility of an at-large bid to the NAIA Division II Men's Basketball National Tournament, when the field is announced next Wednesday, February 28th at 7 PM.