SHERMAN, Texas – The second-seeded Trinity University men's basketball team opened its part in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament with a convincing 88-65 win over third-seed Schreiner University on Saturday afternoon.

The Tiger victory puts the team into the SCAC Championship game for the second straight season, where Trinity and the University of St. Thomas will have a rematch of last year's conference title game. Trinity improves its record to 22-4 this season with its fourth consecutive win, which is also the team's 11th win in its last 12 games.

Sophomore guard Tanner Brown (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) led five Tigers in double figures with a game-high 16 points, hitting 6-of-11 from the field that included a trio of three-pointers.

Senior guard AJ Clark (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) connected on 6-of-10 from the floor on his way to 14 points, adding a game-high five steals to go with four rebounds and a pair of assists.

Following a close first half, Trinity threw up 50 points in the second period to vault itself into the conference final. The victory also ensures Trinity the league's automatic bid to the NCAA Playoffs, as University of St. Thomas is in its final year of transition to Division III and not yet eligible for the postseason tournament.

The Rundown

Both teams struggled to score at the start of the game, with a Schreiner three-pointer accounting for the only points over the first three-plus minutes. Trinity took its first lead at 7-5 with nearly five minutes gone in the opening period, but neither team could build any momentum.

A run of six straight points gave the Tigers a four-point advantage with just over 12 minutes left in the first half, but Schreiner quickly tied things up 15-15 less than two minutes later. Junior guard Kaleb Jenkins (New Orleans, La. / MP Country Day) knocked down a three-pointer with just under seven to go in the half to put Trinity up 24-19 for its largest lead to that point.

Schreiner battled back to within a point, but that sparked an 11-3 spurt by the Tigers that was capped by a three-pointer from junior forward Enzo Sechi (Houston, Texas / Taylor) with 2:12 left in the period. That gave Trinity a 35-26 advantage and a margin that held until the final seconds when Schreiner scored to make it a 38-31 Tiger lead at the break.

Trinity opened the second half with five points in just over two minutes from Clark, swelling the lead to 12 points. After the teams traded baskets over the next couple of possessions, Clark added three more on a successful and-one to give Trinity a 51-37 lead with 16:04 remaining in the game.

Schreiner rallied to within nine points shortly after that, but a 13-2 Tiger run made it a 20-point margin with just over nine minutes to play. Clark added four more during the stretch, which essentially put the game out of reach. The Mountaineers never got closer than 17 points the rest of the way, and Trinity answered that mini-run with seven straight points of its own. Brown picked up the first five of those and senior guard Jordan Lippman (Austin, Texas / Round Rock) punctuated the run with a steal and a dunk that made it a 75-49 lead for the Tigers. The Tigers led by at least 20 points over the final seven minutes and still held a 26-point margin until Schreiner hit a three-pointer in the waning seconds to account for the final margin.

Numbers to Note

Trinity shot 50% (31-of-62) from the field in the game and held Schreiner to less than 35% shooting. The Tigers also hit 35.5% (11-for-31) from distance, while Schreiner made just five of its 26 attempts from beyond the arc. Trinity also held a 21-6 advantage on fast break points and a 10-point margin in bench scoring.

Sechi finished with 11 points and three assists, while Jenkins and first-year guard Jacob Harvey (Huffman, Texas / Hargrave) chipped in with 10 each. Jenkins and Harvey also dished out four assists apiece to lead the Trinity squad, while Jenkins also added five rebounds. Senior forward Mick Marquez (Anthem, Ariz. / Anthem Prep) notched a team-best six boards to go with his six points in the game.

Coach Speak

"Handled business today," Head Coach Jimmy Smith began. "Very balanced effort on offense and defense. We need to cut down on our turnovers and rebound better tomorrow."

"Very excited to be playing for the SCAC Championship for the second straight year," Smith concluded.

Up Next

Trinity Men's Basketball will take on St. Thomas in the SCAC Championship game on Sunday at noon.

The 2022 NCAA III Men's Basketball selection show will air on NCAA.com on Monday, February 28 at 11:30 a.m. CT.