(Story courtesy of Trinity University)
SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Trinity University head men's basketball coach Pat Cunningham earned his 400th career win as Trinity scored a 69-67 overtime win over Colorado College on Sunday afternoon.
Trinity (15-8, 10-4) let a 10-point halftime lead slip away as Colorado College sank three free throws in the final seconds of regulation to force overtime.
Colorado used a 10-2 run in the early part of the second half to cut Trinity's lead to 40-36 with 13:52 left in the game. Trinity never led by more than seven points the rest of the way, but Colorado could not take the lead in regulation.
Trinity was up 58-51 with 3:02 left, but five straight points by Colorado made it a one-possession game. The TU Tigers missed a layup and the front end of a one-and-one at the foul line on its next two chances, but Colorado had a missed shot and a turnover to keep the score the same.
After Trinity hit just 1-2 at the line to make it 59-56 with 14 seconds left, Colorado set up a game-tying three. Jeremiah Waters had his three-point attempt blocked, but a late foul was called to set up three free throws. Even with a Trinity timeout after two made shots, Waters calmly tied the game at the line. Trinity's final three-point try to win it just missed, and it was on to overtime.
Trinity hit 3-4 free throws in the first 21 seconds of overtime, but Colorado answered with two free throws and a short jumper by Chris Lesnansky to take its first lead 63-62 since a 2-0 advantage in the opening minutes of the game.
After another Lesnansky bucket with 2:39 left, Trinity's Heath Hopson scored the game's next five points to give Trinity a 69-65 advantage with 1:45 remaining. That lead was cut to two on the next possession, but neither team scored again in the final 68 seconds.
Trinity missed both free throws with less than five seconds left, leaving Colorado a chance to win or tie, but the second miss forced Colorado into a desperation heave from half court, and Trinity held on for the wild win.
Hopson came off the bench with 17 points, hitting 5-9 from the field and 7-8 from the line in the game. Ryan Beall also scored in double figures, also hitting 5-9 shots for 13 points.
Zach Lambert led Trinity with 19 points in the game, also collecting five rebounds, two assists, and two steals. William Young scored eight points to go with five assists, while Jonathan Wilt had six points, a team-best seven rebounds, and three blocked shots.
The win puts Trinity into a tie for first place in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference West Division. The Tigers finish off the regular season schedule with a pair of conference road games at the University of Dallas and Austin College. Saturday's match-up with Austin will likely be for the West's top seed in the SCAC Tournament in Birmingham, Alabama.
