BANNOCKBURN, Ill. --- The Trinity International University men's basketball team took on the 20th-ranked Tigers of Olivet Nazarene on Wednesday night in their first Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) game of the new year. Coming off a tough one-point loss last week at Lincoln College, the Trojans looked to return home with a much needed home victory.

The Tigers dominated offensively from start to finish, opening up the game on a 10-0 run in the first four minutes before a Thadeous Johnson layup put TIU on the board. With ONU have a size and speed advantage, the Trojans looked to find multiple ways to score. Jonathan Johansson knocked down TIU's lone three-point shot of the first half, while Diamond Presniakovas and Ron Pehka push from inside the paint and from mid-range. TIU went into the halftime break trailing 47-19 to the high powered Tigers.

In the second half, the Trojans were able to find more opportunities, with Presniakovas finding more open shots in the lane to score 15 points in the half. Nate Schmidt and Pehka also hit a pair of three-point shots from distance each. ONU was able to dominate the rebounding game by 20 boards, particularly on offense en route to the 98-57 win over the Trojans.

Presniakovas notched a career-high 20 points and eight rebounds in the loss to lead TIU. Pehka would record 11 points and four rebounds in the loss, while Johnson scored seven points and nine boards. Off the bench, Steven Jenkins posted seven points and two rebounds.

TIU returns home on Saturday, January 11 as they host the Governors State Jaguars in their next CCAC matchup. Tip-off is scheduled for 3:00PM at Van Dixhorn Arena.

Trinity International University is a comprehensive, national university affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America and located in Bannockburn, Illinois, 25 miles north of Chicago. TIU educates men and women to engage in God's redemptive work in the world by cultivating academic excellence, Christian faithfulness and lifelong learning.