(Story Courtesy of Trinity University Sports Information Department)
BELTON, Texas - Trinity University Men's Basketball fell 98-82 in its road NCAA III playoff game at No. 6 University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Saturday evening.
The Tigers (23-6, 13-3 SCAC) battled back from an 18-point deficit to just a two-possession gap in the late stages of the contest but ran out of gas late in the program's first NCAA III second-round contest since 2012.
Junior guard Kaleb Jenkins put together a 20-point, five-steal effort to lead Trinity's output on Saturday.
Sophomore guard Tanner Brown and senior forward David Nickell joined the 2021 SCAC Player of the Year in double-figures with 13 and 10 points, respectively.
The 2021-22 campaign came to a close Saturday for Trinity Men's Basketball.
The Rundown
In a full reversal from Friday's victory over No. 25 Whitworth University, the Tigers and Crusaders traded buckets at a rapid pace though neither squad found a two-possession advantage until UMHB's 19-15 lead six minutes into the contest. In the latter portion of this start, Brown collected back-to-back three-pointers, preceded by the first for junior forward Enzo Sechi.
The combined torrid offensive run eclipsed Friday's halftime total of 63 points with eight minutes left in the first period, yet the two-possession cushion for the Crusaders camer and went a handful of times until the first seven-point margin appeared 13 minutes in. A momentary 11-point deficit for the Tigers came with just over 90 seconds before intermission but the back-and-forth continued toward the 51-41 midway tally.
The scoring well ran dry during the halftime break as it took over two-and-a-half minutes of game for either team to take the lid off the basket as a three-pointer for the Crusaders logged the largest margin of the contest to that point. Baskets continued to trade until a made jumper for UMHB posted the largest lead of the ballgame, 65-47, six-and-a-half into act two.
The Tigers began its rally with the game's largest margin staring them in the face. An 11-4 stretch, highlighted by a heavily-contested pull-up three from the right wing by Jenkins, brought the Tigers back to an 11-point deficit with nine minutes remaining.
Jenkins buried another deep ball with just under six minutes to play for Trinity's first two-possession deficit of the second period. Jenkins hit back iron on his first attempt on that possession but a stronghanded effort from Sechi corralled the loose ball for junior point guard to nail his second attempt.
The Belton home crowd stayed vocal for the Crusaders as the nation's sixth-ranked squad put together a 9-2 run over the next 90 seconds of action. Senior guard AJ Clark stopped the bleeding with a left-corner three to put the scoreboard back to a 10-point margin, 86-76, with three minutes to go at the final media stoppage.
Trinity's rally slowed on the other side of the interruption as both teams went back to trading buckets before the Tigers resorted to the late-game intentional-fouling ritual in the final moments en route to the 98-82 final tally.
Notable Numbers
Jenkins notched his second 20-point outing of the 2021-22 campaign as he led the scoring for the Tigers.
The senior trio Nickell, forward Jack Williams and guard Jordan Lippman combined for a strong bench effort for Trinity as they went a collective 11-for-11 from the field for 27 points including a pair of threes from Williams.
The Tigers put together their ninth 20-plus assist game of the season Saturday night, led in large part by five apiece from Clark and Sechi, a season-high for the junior forward.
Coach Speak
"It's always tough when the season comes to an end but I couldn't be prouder of these guys and the season that we were able to have," Head Coach Jimmy Smith began. "It is extremely hard to get into the NCAA tournament, let alone to win a game and advance to the round of 32. A lot of great experiences and learning lessons for the guys who will be back next year."
That's All Folks
The 2021-22 campaign came to a close Saturday night. Trinity Men's Basketball ended a decade-long NCAA III postseason drought in the first opportunity under the direction of Coach Smith, who is off to a 33-8 start in his direction of the program, 21-4 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play, and has taken the Tigers to back-to-back SCAC championship games.
Trinity graduates five Tigers later this spring: Lippman, Nickell, Williams, and forwards Mick Marquez and Mason Roberts.
"These five seniors have meant so much to this program and will surely be missed," Smith says; "they mean so much to me personally. I look forward to our relationships continuing to grow and am thankful for the opportunity to see them succeed at whatever is in store for them next."
