SAN ANTONIO – The Trinity men's basketball team opened up the Leslie Robinson Christmas Classic with a 78-63 win over Geneva College on Wednesday in Calgaard Gymnasium.

The Tigers improved to 6-4 this season, while Geneva fell to 8-3 overall and 0-2 at this weekend's tournament. Trinity had 17 different players see action this afternoon, with all playing at least seven minutes in the game. The Golden Tornadoes lost a one-point game (70-69) against Southwestern University to open the tournament on Tuesday.

Jacob Harvey (Huffman, Texas / Hargrave) paced three Trinity players in double figures for the game, scoring 15 points on 5-of-8 from beyond the arc, adding four rebounds, two assists, and two steals in just 20 minutes of on-court action. Ben Hanley (Flower Mound, Texas / Flower Mound) added 14 points and four boards in just 15 minutes, connecting on 7-of-8 from the field. AJ Clark (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points, hitting four of his eight shots and playing just 19 total minutes.

Trinity will return to the court tomorrow afternoon, taking on the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point in the Leslie Robinson Tournament finale at 2:00 p.m.

The Rundown
Trinity was in control from the start and didn't trail the entire game. The two teams traded baskets early, but then the Tigers scored 13 of the next 15 points to take a 10-point lead (15-5) just over six minutes into the game. Geneva battled back to within four (20-16) over the next five-plus minutes, but that would be the closest margin the rest of the way.

Less than two minutes later, Trinity wrapped up a 10-0 run that pushed the advantage back to 14 points (30-16) with 6:34 left in the first half. The Tigers opened that lead to 20 for the first time with 3:19 remaining – a lead that held with Trinity leading 48-28 at the break.

Hanley led a trio of scorers that accounted for 29 of the team's 48 points. He finished with 12 points and a team-best four rebounds in the first period, hitting 6-of-7 from the field. Harvey hit three three-pointers in the opening period to add nine points, while Clark knocked down 3-of-5 from the field on his way to an eight-point half.

The Tigers continued to extend the lead in the second half, scoring seven unanswered points in just over a minute. The margin grew to 30 less than five minutes into the second period and went as high as 34 points with just under eight minutes remaining. Geneva finished the game by scoring 20 of the final 21 points to cut into the final margin, but the Tigers still won comfortably.

Numbers to Note
Abdullah Roberts (Houston, Texas / HCYA), Grayson Herr (Farmington, Conn. / Farmington), and Zach Fenn (Covington, La. / Saint Paul's) had seven points each to lead Trinity's bench scorers. Fenn also swiped three steals to pace the defensive effort that forced 18 total turnovers.

Pierce Matthews (Cypress, Texas / Cy Woods) led the Tigers with five rebounds in nine minutes.

Coach Speak
"Great team win over an 8-2 Geneva team coming in," said Head Coach Jimmy Smith. "Our guys did a great job executing our defensive game plan and limiting turnovers. We are excited for another big test tomorrow!"

Up Next
Trinity will close out the Leslie Robinson Christmas Classic with a Thursday afternoon game against the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, beginning at 2:00 p.m.