San Antonio - The Tiger men's basketball team defeated Southwestern University 68-49 on Wednesday night, remaining in first place in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference standings.

Trinity also beat Southwestern 66-49 earlier this season in San Antonio.  The Tigers improved to 16-6 with the win, which is the team's third consecutive victory.  Trinity is also 10-2 in conference play, leading Colorado College in second place with an 8-3 SCAC mark.

The Tigers never trailed in tonight's game, though Southwestern tied the game twice in the first half.  Leading just 20-19 with 8:20 left until the break, Trinity scored 11 unanswered points to push the lead to double figures.  The Tigers led 39-27 at halftime, shooting 50% to start the game, while Southwestern hit just 37% of its field goals.

In the second half, Southwestern would get no closer than 13 points, and that came in the opening minutes of the period.  The Tigers led by as many as 23 in the second half, opening with a 14-3 run.  

Robert Kitzinger led all scorers with 18 points for the Tigers, while Zach Lambert and Joe Shotland scored 12 points each.  Lambert and Shotland also tied David Lacey for the team lead with six rebounds.

William Young and Craig Saltarelli finished with six assists each to lead the Tigers, who had 16 assists on 23 field goals overall in the game.  Young also had a pair of steals and two boards, while Saltarelli chipped in with four points.  

John Boxberger came off the bench with six points and also tied for the team lead with six rebounds in just 17 minutes of action.  Matt Hopper and Clarke Allan added four points each.

Nathaniel Sherrod led Southwestern with nine points, while Nicholas Atiee added eight points in the loss.

The Tigers and Pirates will conclude their regular season series this weekend, playing in Georgetown, Texas, on Saturday night.  Trinity returns home next weekend to finish off the regular season schedule against Colorado College and Dallas on Friday and Saturday.