San Antonio - The Trinity men's basketball team opened its Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference slate with a 79-75 victory Friday night over Austin (TX) College.

 Game Summary

In the first half, the game remained close with the third time (10-10), with 10:45 remaining. The Tigers took a 14-10 lead, but the 'Roos came back and led 17-14 with 6:24 on the clock. The proceedings were tied for the fifth occasion (19-19) at the 4:30 mark. Trinity's 52% shooting in the first halfeventually gave the Tigers a 27-24 lead at the intermission. Austin College was limited to 29.2% in the first stanza.

Trinity held Austin College scoreless in the first two minutes of the second half, and led 32-24. The Tigers outscored the visitors and led 44-30, with 13:13 left in the game. The 'Roos whittled down the lead and closed to within five points at 10:02. The home team again surged, and held a 58-46 advantage at 7:03.

The lead ballooned up to 13 points (66-53) at the 5:15 mark. But Austin College kept on plugging away and closed to within three points (69-72) with 1:08 on the clock. Leading by just four points (76-72) with 16 seconds left, the Tigers sank one of two free throws. Austin College hit a three-pointer with six ticks on the clock, but Trinity closed it out by making two shots at the charity stripe.

Notables

The Tigers evened their season record to 6-6, and now stand at 1-0 in SCAC competition. Trinity won its second straight game, and fourth of the last five matchups. Austin College dropped to 5-7 and 1-1 SCAC. The Tigers and Kangaroos will play again February 10 at Sherman, Texas.

Four Trinity players scored in double figures, paced by Brooks Mays' game-high 23 points. Mays' points production was the second highest team total of the campaign. He shot 6-8 from the field, and sank 11-15 free throws.

Danny Rivara scored 17 points, on 7-9 shooting, along with pulling in a team-leading seven rebounds. Jayden Holden scored 12 points, and Matt Jones added 11. Jones shelled out four assists, and now has 267 to his credit. He moved up to seventh place on Trinity's all-time assists column. Additionally, Jones led the game with three steals.

Trinity shot a season-high 56.8% from the field, while Austin College made 44.6% of its shots. The Tigers held a 31-25 advantage in total rebounds.

Up Next

The Tigers wrap up their homestand on Saturday, with an SCAC tilt against Centenary (LA) College at 6:00 p.m.