SAN ANTONIO – The Tiger men's basketball team opened a home weekend of Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference action with a 64-55 win over the University of St. Thomas on Friday night.

Trinity improved to 13-3 overall and 5-2 in SCAC play with the comeback win, erasing a deficit that reached double figures late in the first half and was a large as nine points midway through the second period. The season series between the two teams is now even, as the Celts defeated the Tigers 59-51 last week in Houston.

Enzo Sechi (Houston, Texas / Taylor) led a trio of Tigers in double-figure scoring with a 17-point night, hitting 3-of-6 beyond the arc and 5-for-11 overall from the field. Sechi added four rebounds and a pair of assists to his stat line. Sechi's three-pointer with 1:37 left in the game put Trinity in front for good

Kaleb Jenkins (New Orleans, La. / Metairie Park) knocked down 7-for-10 from the foul line on his way to 16 points and a team-leading eight rebounds. He converted 5-of-6 from the line in the final minute to help Trinity seal the victory.

Trinity will close out the weekend with another rematch on Sunday, hosting Colorado College in another SCAC matchup.

The Rundown

The Tigers opened the game with four quick points and led 11-6 just over five minutes into the game. St. Thomas then took control with an 11-0 run that put the visitors ahead by six midway through the period. Sechi scored four points to lead Trinity to six straight points to answer, trimming the lead to just one point with under six minutes left in the half.

Just over a minute later, St. Thomas ripped off eight consecutive points to push the lead to double digits at 31-21. The lead was still 10 with less than a minute left, but Trinity scored four points to close out the period and cut it to a 33-27 halftime deficit.

Trinity carried that momentum after the break, scoring the first seven points of the second period to cap an 11-0 run that put the Tigers in front 34-33. After trading the lead over the next few possessions, St. Thomas scored seven straight points to build a nine-point lead with 11:47 left in the game.

The Tigers answered with nine consecutive points of their own to tie things up at 46-all just over a minute later. Scoring was at a premium for the next several minutes as both teams scored just eight points during the stretch. Ben Hanley (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) tied things up 54-54 on his layup with 2:40 left, then St. Thomas edged in front with a free throw less than a minute later.

That set up Sechi's go-ahead three-pointer at the 1:37 mark and Trinity never trailed again. St. Thomas missed its final four shots in the game, and Trinity hit 7-of-8 free throws down the stretch to pull off the victory.

Numbers to Note

Jacob Harvey (Huffman, Texas / Hargrave) was the third Trinity player in double figures, scoring 11 points on 4-of-8 shooting off the bench. He also ahd three rebounds and a pair of blocks.

AJ Clark (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) led the Tigers with six assists to go with his five points in the game, including a pair of free throws with 18 seconds left to help seal the win.

Tanner Brown (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) finished with eight points along with six rebounds, and he tied with Jenkins for the team lead with two steals each.

Both teams shot under 40% for the game overall and under 30% from three-point range. The Tigers held a significant edge in foul shooting, knocking down 21-for-28 at the line, and allowing just eight total attempts for the Celts. 

Coach Speak

"I'm really proud of our guys," Head Coach Jimmy Smith exclaimed. "St. Thomas is a very good team; Coach Medina has done a great job to build a championship program over there. I was so proud of the guys fr continuing to fight and stick to the game plan. They trusted each other down the stretch and made winning plays on both ends of the court."

Up Next

Trinity will close out the SCAC weekend by hosting Colorado College at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, January 23.