WASHINGTON, Pa. – The Trinity men's basketball team closed out the Great Lakes Invitational today with a 75-59 runaway win against Case Western Reserve University. A staunch defensive effort from the Tigers forced the Spartans into their worst offensive performance of the year and handed them their third straight loss.
Trinity went up big early and earned the chance to rest the starters with the game in the bag, leading to a balanced box score across the board.
Carter Ruck (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) had a season-high 11 points off the bench on 44% (4-9) shooting, including 50% (3-6) from deep, to go along with 4 rebounds.
Dylan Walker (Highland Park, Texas / Highland Park) scored 10 points on 36% (4-11) shooting and grabbed 5 rebounds, playing limited minutes after his 33-point showing the previous day.
Zach Fenn (Covington, La. / Saint Paul's) and
Will Bronson (Dallas, Texas / Jesuit) were key players in the Tigers' defensive attack, as Fenn recorded 5 steals and Bronson posted 5 blocks.
The Tigers rebounded the ball well and had the Spartans looking lost offensively, two keys to the game that resulted in a blowout Trinity win. They grabbed 53 rebounds to Case Western's 40, an effort that far surpassed the Spartans' opponent rebounding average of 36 per game. The Spartans shot just 32% (23-72) from the field and 19% (6-32) from threes despite having only one previous game below 40% shooting.
The Rundown
What was a close game for the first five minutes became a double-digit Tiger lead in just a few possessions. Leading by three points with 15:05 to go in the first half, Trinity scored 13 unanswered points and would not relent for the remainder of the half. Walker had all 10 of his points before the clock reached 13 minutes to go. Emboldened by the Spartans' poor shooting performance, making just 20% (7-35) of their first-half shots and just 7% (1-14) of their threes during the period, the Tigers continued to pour it on, opening up a lead as large as 27 at one point.
Jackson Lawson (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) was another key scorer in the first half, scoring all 7 of his points in the period. Trinity took a sizable 42-17 lead heading into the break.
The Spartans began to turn things around in the second half as their fortunes from the field turned around and the Tigers sat their starters. Case Western shot 43% (16-37) from the field in the second half, although still cashing in on 28% (5-18) of shots from deep. The Spartans brought the score to within 13 at one point but never got back within striking distance. Trinity held out to take the 75-59 win, finished off by an exclamation point dunk by
Benjamin Wagner (San Antonio, Texas / Cornerstone) with a minute to play in regulation.
Looking Ahead
While finished with the Great Lakes Invitational, the Tigers will stay in Pennsylvania to take on La Roche University (1-4) on Monday, Nov. 24.
