SAN ANTONIO – The 18th-ranked Tiger men's basketball team finished off Southwestern University's Paul Peak Classic Tournament with an 88-84 victory over LeTourneau University on Sunday evening.

Trinity improves to 3-1 with the win, while handing LeTourneau (2-1) its first loss of the young season. All five starters scored in double figures in tonight's game, accounting for all but 10 of the team's points.

Jacob Harvey (Huffman, Texas / Hargrave) sank a pair of free throws with just 17 seconds left to seal the win as Sul Ross rallied late and nearly stole the game from the Tigers. Harvey finished with career-highs of 23 points and eight rebounds to lead the team in both categories. He knocked down 7-for-12 from the field that included 5-of-9 from three-point range.

The Tigers play one final road game before making their home debut this season with the Leslie Robinson Thanksgiving Classic on Friday and Saturday, November 25-26, against McMurry University and Hardin-Simmons University. Prior to the tournament, Trinity will take on Sul Ross State University on Wednesday afternoon, tipping off at 1:00 p.m.

The Rundown
Trinity scored the first five points of the game and was leading 13-7 after Harvey's second three-pointer in the first five minutes of action. The Yellowjackets kept the game within reach, though, beginning with five unanswered points of their own to make it just a one-point game less than a minute later.

Another Harvey triple put the Tigers in front 21-16 near the midway point of the first half, but LeTourneau used a 6-0 spurt to take its first lead of the game with 10 minutes left. Brown broke up the streak with a three-pointer, but the scoring streak continued with 10 more points by the Yellowjackets. Trinity now trailed 24-32 after a total run of 16-3 over a span of less than five minutes. The Tigers bounced back immediately with 11 unanswered points of their own to reclaim the lead 35-32 with under five minutes left in the first half. The teams traded leads from there, but Trinity took a slim 46-43 advantage into the halftime locker room.

Clark scored two early buckets to start the second half, keeping up with LeTourneau's offense that also knocked down its first two shots of the period. Trinity began to pull away over the next few minutes and had the lead up to double digits with 11:38 to play in the game. Consecutive three-pointers by LeTourneau cut that lead down to five and the Yellowjackets were back in the game. 

That lead continued to dwindle until it was just one point at 74-73 when Harvey scored five of seven consecutive points by Trinity to regain control of the game. LeTourneau rallied once again by scoring nine of 11 points to pull within one with just 83 seconds left. The Yellowjackets got a block on Trinity's next field goal, but a turnover on the ensuing possession gave the ball back to the Tigers with under a minute to go. Clark made 1-of-2 at the line with 31 seconds left and LeTourneau missed a game-tying layup nearly 10 seconds later. The Yellowjackets were forced to foul after that, setting up Harvey for his late-game heroics. He converted both free throws with 17 seconds left to finish off the victory as LeTourneau missed its final two shots.

Numbers to Note
Tanner Brown (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) scored 15 points along with six rebounds, four assists, and three steals. Brown connected on 6-for-13 from the field and hit a pair of three-pointers in five attempts.

AJ Clark (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) and Abdullah Roberts (Houston, Texas / HCYA) scored 14 points each, while Ben Hanley (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) finished with 12.
Clark also tied Brown for the team lead with three steals, then also added seven rebounds and three assists. Hanley scored on six of his seven field goal attempts, dishing out four assists to tie Brown for the team lead in that category.

Coach Speak
"What a gutsy win by our guys," Head Coach Jimmy Smith said after the weekend finale. "I couldn't be more proud of this team and their resiliency. LeTourneau has a great program and are very well-coached. They won 22 games last year and will win a bunch of games again this year. This was a huge win for us!"

Up Next
Trinity continues its busiest week of the year by heading to Alpine, Texas, to take on Sul Ross State University on Wednesday, November 23. The Tigers make their 2022-23 season home debut by hosting McMurry University on Friday, November 25, at 2:00 p.m., as part of the Leslie Robinson Thanksgiving Classic. Trinity also hosts Hardin-Simmons University on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. to close out the tournament.