HOUSTON, TX - No. 6 Tiger Men's Basketball falls to St. Thomas 65-72 in the first game of their final weekend of regular season play.
 
The Tigers (22-2) were defeated for the second time this season, both by UST. Dean Balo (Dallas, Texas / JJ Pearce) would lead the way for the Tigers with 17 points on 6-7 shooting and 3-3 from three-point land.  Christian Green (San Antonio, Texas / Veterans Memorial) would be the next Tiger in double figures as he dropped 14 points with five boards. 
 
The Rundown
 
The afternoon would start hot for the Tigers with Jacob Harvey (Huffman, Texas / Hargrave) streaking through the defense and lobbing up to Christian Green for a statement slam. St. Thomas would answer with three buckets in a row but a quick three-pointer by Harvey would cut their lead to two. Trinity would see their first lead of the game off of a floater from green found the bottom of the net. A few buckets would be traded and a Dean Balo three would be the start of an eight-point swing that would increase the lead to eight, the biggest lead for either team in the first half. However, the Celts would be nails on defense and go on a 13-2 run to grab the lead back with just two minutes left. Just like all season, it was backpack time for Tanner Brown (San Antonio, Texas / Brandeis) as he would collect the final five points of the half to send the Tigers to the locker room with a narrow 30-28 lead. 
 
The second half would start off with a corner three from Brown off of a rocket pass from Jacob Millhouse (Plano, Texas / Independence). The two offensive powerhouses traded punches until it was all drawn up at 43. The Celts, led by their backcourt, would hit clutch shots and go up by eight. Back-to-back buckets by Harvey and Green would cut the UST lead to three and the two squads would stay locked for the next two minutes of play. Millhouse would break the stalemate and Brown hit a big reverse layup to tie the game, but the Celts would answer right back. Trinity would try to make the points back up but the Celts would hit big shots and take the win 65-72.
 
Coach Speak
 
"Obviously a tough loss," said Head Coach Jimmy Smith. "No time to hang our heads as we have another really tough road test Sunday at Centenary. We will bounce back!"
 
Up Next
 
The Tigers will play their final regular season game in Shreveport against Centenary on Sunday, February 18th at noon.