GEORGETOWN, Texas — The Trinity University men's basketball team secured an 82-57 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference victory over Southwestern University on Saturday evening, extending their winning streak to twelve games.
Trinity improved to 18-3 overall and 11-1 in conference play, solidifying their spot atop the SCAC standings. Meanwhile, Southwestern fell to 2-19 on the season and 2-10 in the SCAC.
Dean Balo (Dallas, Texas / JJ Pearce) led the way for the Tigers with 15 points, hitting 3-of-4 from beyond the arc and dishing out three assists.
Ty Williams (Pearland, Texas / Pearland) was nearly perfect, contributing 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting while adding two steals and three assists.
Will Bronson (Dallas, Texas / Jesuit) was dominant off the bench, scoring 12 points and pulling down a team-high eight rebounds.
Jacob Millhouse (Plano, Texas / Independence) added nine points and a team-high five assists to round out a balanced offensive effort.
As a team, Trinity shot an impressive 58.2 percent from the field and 42.9 percent from three-point range. The Tigers forced 16 turnovers, converting them into 25 points, and held a 35-26 rebounding edge. Trinity also controlled the paint, scoring 36 points inside and dominating second-chance opportunities with 14 points on nine offensive rebounds.
The Rundown
The Tigers got off to a hot start, opening the game with a 13-2 run fueled by defensive stops and efficient shooting. Millhouse knocked down a three-pointer on Trinity's opening possession, followed by steals from Balo and Williams within the first four minutes. By the time the first media time-out came around the Tigers were 11 points ahead off of 3-of-4 shooting from three. Williams added a layup and assisted on Balo's second three-pointer to push the lead to double digits. Southwestern briefly cut into the lead at 15-9, but Trinity responded with another burst, including a corner three from
Jacob Harvey (Huffman, Texas / Hargrave) and a strong finish inside by Bronson to rebuild the cushion. The Tigers' defense held Southwestern to 34.5 percent shooting in the half, forcing nine turnovers. Trinity went into halftime with a comfortable 40-26 lead after Bronson's putback in the final minutes.
The second half began with more dominance from Trinity, as Balo and Williams quickly scored on consecutive possessions to push the lead to 20. Southwestern fought back with a three-pointer from Shobby Enakpene, but the Tigers answered with a 12-3 run capped by a pair of layups from Williams, giving Trinity a 24-point advantage. Trinity continued to control the boards and stay locked in on defense.
Zach Fenn (Covington, La. / Saint Paul's) added a steal and transition layup to push the lead to 27 with just over 10 minutes remaining.
Trinity's entire team kept the momentum going in the closing minutes, with
Jake Miller (Scottsdale, Ariz. / Rancho Solano) drilling a three-pointer and
Max Sprott (Mission Hills, Kan. / Pembroke Hill) knocking down a mid-range jumper to seal the 82-57 win. The Tigers' balanced scoring and relentless defense ensured their twelfth straight victory.
Up Next
The Tigers are back at home next weekend as they face a repeat of this week's fixtures. Trinity will play Texas Lutheran at 7:30pm on Friday before closing their regular season home schedule against Southwestern at 6:00pm on Saturday.
