St. Louis, Missouri - The Trinity men's basketball team battled back from a 17-point deficit, but the Tigers were edged 79-77 by fourth-ranked Washington University-St. Louis at the Lopata Classic on Saturday night.

Trinity lost a tough 83-74 matchup to ninth-ranked Emory University in Friday's opening of the classic, and dropped to 0-7 after Saturday's tight loss. Washington remained unblemished at 8-0.

The Tigers held a 73-71 lead with less than two minutes remaining in the game, as A.J. Pulliam scored on a layup. The Bears made one of two free throws after a Trinity foul,  but Pulliam sank two at the line as the Tigers led 75-72. At the 1:18 mark, Washington tied the score at 75-75 on a 3-pointer, and added two more points with 30 seconds left. . The Bears sank two free throws to lead 79-75 with six ticks on the clock. Matt Selling fired in a jumper with one second, as time ran out.

Pulliam led the Tigers with 22 points, shooting 8-12 from the field and 2-4 in 3-point range. He also made a game-high four blocked shots. Selling added 19 points, going 7-11 from the field and 5-6 beyond the arc. He also had a Tigers-best seven rebounds. William Young paced the team with five assists.

The Bears started off strong with a 17-point first-half lead (19-2) with 15 minutes remaining in the opening period. Washington ended up with a 43-36 halftime lead. Trinity went on a 17-5 scoring run of its own, and led 53-48 on a 3-point jump shot by Selling with 15 minutes left in the game. The Tigers led 69-65 on a Brian Blum layup at 5:51, but the Bears closed the gap and took over the lead.

Trinity, which scored a season-high in points, also shot 56 percent from the field, and 60 percent at long range, which were good for high marks in the campaign. Washington hit 43 percent from the field and 45 percent of its 3-pointers.

The Tigers return home Thursday, December 18, to host Whitworth University (WA) at 7:00 p.m.