SAN ANTONIO - No. 22 Tiger Men's Basketball opens the Leslie Robinson Classic with a come-from-behind victory against Washington & Lee 78-70.
 
The Tigers (10-0) used a strong second half, outscoring the Generals 45-29, to carry them to victory. The Tigers were led by junior guard Jacob Harvey (Huffman, Texas / Hargrave), who had 23 points. Jacob Millhouse (Plano, Texas / Independence) also put in an impressive performance with a season-high 11 points. Braxton Barry (Houston, Texas / Westbury Christian) was lethal in crashing the glass, collecting 11 total rebounds with five of them being offensive. Sophomore Zach Fenn (Covington, Louisiana / Saint Paul's) had 7 steals in the game, putting him at second all-time in Trinity history for steals in a single game.
 
The Rundown 
 
Washington and Lee scored the first two buckets of the game, but a three-pointer from Tanner Brown (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) would start the scoring for the Tigers. The Generals would go on a 9-2 run before a fast break three-pointer from Dean Balo (Dallas, Texas / JJ Pearce) would stop them in their tracks. The Tigers would see their first lead of the game ten minutes into the half as Balo had another timely bucket to make the score 26-25. Washington and Lee would once again find their groove and post fourteen points to Trinity's two over the next five minutes of play. Christian Green (San Antonio, Texas / Veterans Memorial) would go two-for-two from the free throw line to bring the Tigers within nine. Two steals in back-to-back possessions by Fenn would give the Tigers some much needed energy going into the second half. A rebound and fast break layup by Millhouse would send the Tigers to the half 41-33. 
 
Head Coach Jimmy Smith gave the Tigers just the pep talk they needed because the Tigers came out to the second half with a 6-3 run to cut the lead to 4. The Generals and Tigers would trade buckets but Green and Brown would make their mark on the game when a steal from Green would lead to an acrobatic layup by Brown and tie the game at 48 a piece. The Tigers would grab their first lead of the game when Harvey splashed a three-point bomb to make the score 51-50. The Generals would make the game even a few possessions later but the Tigers were ready to make a statement. With eight minutes remaining, Barry would start a 10-point Tiger run that would get the crown in Calgaard on their feet. The dagger of the game would come with four minutes left in the game when Tanner Brown went around the screen from Barry and tried a pull-up three-pointer from the top of the arc right in the face of a General defender and just as the Tiger broadcasters said… he nailed it. From that point on, the Tigers would settle in on defense and hit many free throws to seal up the game and stay undefeated.

Coach Speak

"I'm really proud of the resiliency of this group," said Coach Smith. "To come back in the second half against a really good W&L team shows a lot about this group's makeup. I am excited for another tough matchup against Chicago tomorrow night."
 
Up Next - Robinson Holiday Classic Part Two
 
The Tigers will square off against the University of Chicago tomorrow, December 21st, at 7:00 PM in Calgaard Gymnasium.