AUSTIN, Texas - The Trinity University men's basketball team continued their winning form with a 84-80 victory over Concordia (TX) on Sunday afternoon. After a last second win against McMurry on Friday, it was yet another close encounter for the Tigers, who took just a one point lead into the final minute of the game.
The Tornadoes had a one point lead as the clock ticked below three minutes, with both teams showing remarkable competitiveness and fight in the closing stages. The nature of the game got both teams into foul trouble in the final few minutes, which Trinity took advantage of as
Dean Balo (Dallas, Texas / JJ Pearce) scored four consecutive free-throws to give his team the 81-77 lead with two minutes remaining.
An important three-pointer from Concordia reduced the deficit to one before it turned into a battle of the defenses, with neither team scoring a field goal from almost two minutes. As the clock ticked below 10 seconds junior
Zach Fenn (Covington, La. / Saint Paul's) scored a massive layup, making the score 83-80 in favor of the Tigers. Fenn then made an important foul to deny the Tornadoes a chance at a game-tying three pointer, who went on to miss the resulting free-throws, giving Trinity the win.
The Tigers increased their winning streak to eight games and improved to 14-3 on the season, including a 7-1 mark in SCAC play. Concordia are now 5-10 on the season and 2-4 in league play, with Trinity sweeping the regular season series after winning 88-80 at home earlier in the month.
Jacob Harvey (Huffman, Texas / Hargrave) led the team with a season high 26 points off of nine made field goals, including five three pointers, while going a perfect 3-3 from the free throw line. Balo also converted each time he stood at the charity stripe (5-5), adding 19 points of his own.
Christian Green (San Antonio, Texas / Veterans Memorial) had a quiet night offensively but was imperative on the other side of the ball, collecting eight rebounds and four steals, as well as a season-high five assists.
Concordia started the game on top putting themselves 11 points ahead in the first five minutes, the games largest lead. Three-point shooting was their strongest asset in the opening stages, going 4-6 from beyond the arc early on. Trinity fought back with some strong shooting of their own, as Harvey made three consecutive triples to swing the momentum back in their favor. The Tigers continued to chip away at the deficit before a three from Balo put them in the lead for the first time with just under five minutes to go in the first half. Each team traded baskets as the first half game to a close with the Tornadoes taking a 41-40 lead into half-time.
Trinity's best period of the game came in the opening stages of the second half as they put together a 9-0 run to regain the lead, thanks to a pair of three-point plays from Balo. Neither team could take control of the game as the lead changed hands a number of times in the later stages of the game as the Tigers went on to take a narrow victory back to San Antonio.
Up Next
The Tigers return home for a pair of matches inside Calgaard next weekend when they face Ozarks (AR) and Centenary (LA) on Friday (7:30pm) and Saturday (6:00pm) respectively.
