SAN ANTONIO – The Tiger men's basketball team had its six-game winning streak snapped in a 100-103 loss to Carleton College (MN) on Saturday evening.

Trinity had four players in double figures, led by a career-high 25 points from Tanner Brown (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis). Brown hit 8-of-13 from the field overall and 3-for-7 from three-point range to eclipse his previous career-best total of 20 points.

AJ Clark (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) nearly notched a triple-double with a balanced score sheet, finishing with 10 points along with eight rebounds and eight assists. He tied his career-high with the eight assists.

The Rundown

The game opened with Carleton hitting five straight shots and sprinting to a 12-2 lead just over three minutes into the game. The Tigers upped the defensive pressure during a run of its own, forcing the visitors to miss six of the next seven shots. Brown scored 10 points during a 20-3 run by Trinity that put the home team in front 22-15. Kaleb Jenkins (New Orleans, La. / MP Country Day) scored seven straight Trinity points during the run, beginning with a go-ahead three-pointer.

The Knights answered with eight straight points of their own to regain the lead briefly, but Clark stopped the scoring streak with a three-pointer that put the Tigers back in front again with just over 10 minutes left in the half.

After Carleton hit a three-pointer to cut the lead to just three near the seven-minute mark, the Tigers scored seven points in just over a minute to push the advantage to double figures at 40-30. That led to Carleton scoring 13 of the next 15 points to pull back in front at the 2:42 mark.

The teams traded scores and the lead after that, including a go-ahead three-pointer from Jack Williams (The Woodlands, Texas / The Woodlands) with less than a minute to go. Carleton knocked down a three of its own with 11 seconds remaining, but Clark streaked down the court to get a layup that put Trinity in front 49-48 at the break.

The second half began with Carleton quickly edging out in front and the visitors led 56-51 less than two minutes into the period. The Tigers came to life after that, beginning with a run that featured three points each from Brown, Jenkins, and Enzo Sechi (Houston, Texas / Taylor); and giving Trinity a 60-56 lead.

That advantage grew to nine points with under 14 to play and was still an eight-point Tiger margin with less than 12 minutes remaining. Carleton was able to keep it close enough to stay in the game, then chipped away over the next several minutes to eventually ease back in front 81-80 with 6:50 remaining.

Both teams traded leads over the next three minutes, but Carleton broke an 87-87 tie with four straight points to take the lead for good. The Tigers got within one possession several times down the stretch, but Carleton hit 10-of-12 from the foul line over the final 1:33 to help seal the game.

Numbers to Note

Sechi finished with 17 points on 7-of-11 shooting, but spent much of the game in foul trouble and played just 21 minutes.

Jenkins hit 5-for-9 from the field to reach 14 points, rounding out the Tigers in double figure scoring.

David Nickell (Humble, Texas / Atascocita) led Trinity's reserves with eight points and four rebounds in just 11 minutes of action. Jacob Millhouse (Plano, Texas / Independence) hit both of his three-point attempts for a six-point night in six minutes off the bench.

Both teams shot better than 50% from the field in the game and over 40% from three-point range. Carleton held an edge with 74% free-throw shooting, making nine more foul shots than the Tigers.

Coach Speak

"This may be the first time in history that a team has scored 100 points, shot 51 percent from the field and lost," Head Coach Jimmy Smith began. "All credit goes to Carleton today; they executed very well and made big shots all game. They are a very well-coached and disciplined group."

"We have a lot of things to work on this week in preparation for the start of SCAC play next weekend." 

Up Next

Trinity will open up Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play in one week, facing off against Schreiner University on Saturday, December 4, at 4:00 p.m.