SAN ANTONIO – Trinity University's men's basketball team opened up the 2022 calendar year with a 74-65 tally in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference action against University of Dallas Tuesday evening in Calgaard Gym.

Junior forward Enzo Sechi (Houston, Texas / Memorial) led the way for the Tigers (11-2, 3-1 SCAC) with 15 points and six rebounds, tied with senior guard AJ Clark (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson). Junior guard Kaleb Jenkins (New Orleans, La. / Metairie Park) joined Sechi in double-figures with 11 points.

First-year guard Jacob Harvey's (Huffman, Texas / Hargrave) helped Trinity take control with his six points off the bench in a 45-second window of the second half as he buried back-to-back threes on the Crusaders following the under-12 media break.

Trinity Men's Basketball gears up for another long SCAC roadtrip this weekend, with visits to University of St. Thomas Thursday and Colorado College Saturday.

The Rundown

Trinity fell behind early as Dallas opened the game with five straight points, and the Tigers never led until the 10:47 mark. After the teams traded baskets over the next few possessions, Trinity rattled off 10 straight points to take a 29-20 lead with 6:28 to play in the half. The lead reached double digits two minutes later, but Dallas used an 8-0 run to make it a one-possession game with under two to go. Each team added a bucket in the final 90 seconds and Trinity took a 33-31 lead into the break.

Dallas opened the second half with three quick field goals to pull back in front 37-33, but sophomore guard Tanner Brown (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) picked up an and-one three-point play to trim the lead back to one. After another Dallas score, Trinity rattled off six straight points to take a three-point lead, capped by back-to-back layups by senior guard Ben Hanley (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound).

Holding a one-point lead at the 13-minute mark, the Tigers streaked out to its biggest lead of the game with 11 unanswered points in less than four minutes. Harvey keyed the run with his back-to-back three-pointers. Dallas answered with six straight points of its own to cut the lead in half, but Trinity was back in front by double digits just over a minute later.

A pair of three-pointers from the Crusaders brought the game briefly within two possessions with roughly six minutes to go but Trinity responded with a Sechi bucket then a Clark made free throw to get back to a double-digit margin. During this sequence, Clark lived up to his do-it-all approach as he assisted Sechi's jumper, collected a steal in the midcourt, then drew the foul in transition.

Both squads traded scoring possessions in the late stages, mostly from the charity stripe, before a dagger three-ball from Jenkins put the Tigers up 13 with just over 90 seconds to play.

Numbers to Note

• Trinity's advantage came thanks to forcing 18 Dallas turnovers to just 11 lost possessions for the Tigers.
• Despite trailing on the boards (46-38), Trinity outscored the Crusaders, 19-13, in second-chance points while it posted a 9-3 advantage in transition.

Coach Speak

"It was awesome to get back on the court today," Head Coach Jimmy Smith began. "We seemed a little out of rhythm tonight but I give Dallas a lot of credit for that; they are a very well-coached team."

"I'm very proud of our guys for figuring out a way to win when shooting 18 percent from the three-point line; that is very uncharacteristic for us," Smith continued. "We are excited for a big road trip this weekend."

Up Next

The Tigers head east to St. Thomas on Thursday for a 5:30 p.m. tip-off with the Celts followed by a visit to Colorado Springs, Colorado for a duel of Tigers Saturday at 1 p.m. (CT), Noon (MT).