ABILENE, Texas – The 12th-ranked Trinity University men's basketball team opened its season with a narrow 86-84 win over Chapman University (CA) at the HSU Classic Tournament, hosted by Hardin-Simmons University (TX).
After Chapman took the lead with a key three-pointer in the final minute of the game,
Dylan Walker (Highland Park, Texas / Highland Park) answered with the game-winning three. Chapman had two three-point shots in the final seconds to win it, but neither went in and Trinity escaped with the win.
The Tigers (1-0) led 43-42 at the break against the Panthers (0-1), then both teams scored the same number of points in the second half. Chapman shot the ball very well all over the court tonight, hitting 49.2% (29-of-59) overall from the field, 60% (15-for-25) from the three-point line, and 84.6% (11-of-13) from the free throw line. Trinity hit 34-of-61 (55.7%) from the floor and connected on 10-of-23 (43.5%) from beyond the arc. The Tigers also dominated the paint, outscoring Chapman 46-26, and also held a significant edge (42-12) in bench scoring.
Walker finished with 10 points after his clutch three-pointer, though
Jackson Lawson (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) led the team with 14 points on 6-of-10 shooting overall.
Dean Balo (Dallas, Texas / JJ Pearce) finished with nine points and only he and Walker had more than one three-point basket for the Tigers.
Gabe Parr (Austin, Texas / Westwood) and
Cole Hill (San Antonio, Texas / Reagan) both finished with nine points off the bench.
Carter Ruck (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) dished out a team-best seven assists – his last coming on Walker's three-pointer at the end of the game.
Ben Estis (Southlake, Texas / Carroll) finished with seven points, while
Will Bronson (Dallas, Texas / Jesuit) led the team with seven rebounds and scored four points.
The Rundown
Estis got things started for the Tigers with a three-pointer on the opening possession. After assisting on the Estis three, Lawson then scored a layup for himself and Trinity took an early 5-2 lead. Chapman made the first big run after that by scoring seven of the next nine and taking a 12-7 lead ahead of the under-16 media timeout. After the timeout, Hill and Parr took over for the Tigers with 12 straight points in less than three minutes to give their team a 19-12 lead. Hill started with a three-pointer, then Parr had a free throw and consecutive layups before Hill wrapped up the run with back-to-back layups of his own.
The Panthers answered with a 13-3 run of their own to regain the lead just past the midway point of the period. The teams exchanged leads over the next few minutes, which included a stretch of just over a minute that featured four points, three rebounds, and a block from first-year
Corbin Crocker (San Antonio, Texas / TMI Episcopal) and a 30-27 Tiger lead. Chapman battled back and the lead continued to go back and forth between the two teams, until a three-pointer gave the Panthers a 40-36 advantage with just over 90 seconds left. Balo answered with a three-pointer with just over a minute left, then assisted Bronson on a layup to follow another Chapman score to draw within one at 41-42. Parr then gave Trinity the lead for good with a layup with 20 seconds left, as Chapman could not connect on a three-pointer in the final seconds of the half.
The game stayed extremely close after the half, with both teams holding multiple leads and neither able to pull away. Down two with under 11 minutes left in the game, first-year
Brad Brown (Teaneck, N.J. / Don Bosco Prep) hit a go-ahead three-pointer that was followed by Lawson dropping in back-to-back layups for a 65-60 lead with 9:29 to play. Chapman battled back and tied the game again less than a minute later, then took a 74-71 lead with just over five minutes left. Ruck broke up the small run with a layup that was followed by five straight points from Walker, with Ruck adding an assist and a rebound during the stretch that made it a 78-74 Tiger lead.
Chapman cut the lead in half on its next possession, but Lawson converted an and-one three-point play to take an 81-76 lead with just over two minutes left. Chapman used a quick 5-0 spurt to tie things up, but Ruck connected with Balo for a go-ahead score on Trinity's next possession to ease back in front. That's when Chapman and Trinity exchanged three-pointers in the final minute, with Walker getting the final three-pointer to give Trinity the dramatic win.
Up Next
Trinity will take on California Lutheran University at 4:00 p.m. tomorrow afternoon to finish off the weekend tournament.
