COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. – Trinity's men's basketball team came up short in a 72-68 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference loss on the road against Colorado College on Sunday afternoon.

The TU Tigers slip to third in the conference standings after falling to 15-6 overall and 8-4 in league play. Colorado College holds in fourth place at 10-11 overall and 7-5 in SCAC. Trinity won the matchup earlier this season in San Antonio, 64-58.

Trinity saw its eight-point halftime lead evaporate near the 10-minute mark as Colorado College tied things up 52-52. Neither team led by more than four points until the final seconds when Colorado College iced the game with a free throw to account for the final score.

Tanner Brown (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) gave the visitors a narrow 68-67 lead with under a minute to play, but Colorado College came back with a shot of its own to ease back in front. The TU Tigers had its next shot blocked and was forced to foul with 5.2 seconds left. Colorado College hit both foul shots to make it a 71-68 game, which led to Trinity calling a timeout at half court with 2.2 seconds left. Instead of a chance to tie the game, Trinity turned the ball over and Colorado College was able to take the win.

Brown led Trinity with 15 points on the strength of 3-of-6 shooting from beyond the arc, and he also pulled down a team-best eight rebounds. Kaleb Jenkins (New Orleans, La. / Metairie Park) was the only other player in double figures for Trinity, finishing with 13 points off the bench. Ty Williams (Pearland, Texas / Pearland) chipped in with nine points and five boards, while Jacob Harvey (Huffman, Texas / Hargrave) also had nine points.

The game is the final road contest on the schedule this season as Trinity will play its final four games at home, then will also host the SCAC Championship Tournament February 24-26.

The Rundown
The game began with Colorado College making its first four shots, while Brown's first three-pointer marked Trinity's lone score in the first two minutes. The lead was down to just two when Colorado College scored eight unanswered points to make it a 23-13 game with under 11 to go in the half.

Trinity's offense came to life from there, scoring 14 straight points to turn the game upside down and take a 27-23 lead near the seven-minute mark. Colorado College battled back to within one possession several times after that and trailed by just three (29-31) with two minutes left. Trinity wrestled the momentum away and closed with a 6-0 run to make it an eight-point lead at the break.

The lead got as high as nine in the first minute of the second period, but Colorado College scored 10 of the next 12 points to pull within one (41-42) at the under-16 media timeout. Trinity didn't give up the lead at that point, and was back in front by six at the next media stoppage.

That's when Colorado College made its move and tied things up 52-all at the 10:40 mark. The home team didn't fall behind for the next several minutes, though Jenkins scored a go-ahead triple with under six minutes to play to give Trinity a slim 59-58 edge. Colorado College answered with a three of its own a minute later, then Jenkins tied things up 61-61 with two free throws at the 4:24 mark. He added two more foul shots after that to give him seven straight points for Trinity and a 63-61 lead.

After Harvey put Trinity in front 65-63 with 2:27 left, the Tigers missed their next four shots, and Colorado College was able to reclaim the lead with under a minute to play. Brown's three-point answer put Trinity back in front, but it would prove to be the final points of the day for the visitors. Colorado College scored in the waning seconds, blocked Trinity's next shot, and made 3-of-4 at the line to seal the win.

Coach Speak
"Tough loss," admitted Head Coach Jimmy Smith. "We had our chances, but unfortunately didn't make the plays down the stretch and CC did. Excited to get back home and finish the regular season with four games in front of our home crowd."

Up Next
Trinity will return home on Friday, February 10, against the University of Dallas at 7:30 p.m. The Tigers then host Austin College Saturday at 6:00 p.m. to close out the weekend.