Men's Basketball

February 2, 2008

Trinity Falls to DePauw as Final Shot Misses Long

San Antonio - Trinity's men's basketball team missed a potential game-winning shot for the second straight night on Saturday, losing a 68-70 game to DePauw University.

Trinity (13-6, 6-4) was unable to hold on to a 38-31 halftime lead on Saturday night, squandering a 53.8% shooting performance in the opening period by allowing DePauw to shoot over 50% from the field as well.  DePauw hit over 50% in both halves, while Trinity fell to 30% shooting in the final 20 minutes.

Trinity led by as many as 12 points (23-11) in the game, but DePauw used a 13-0 run to erase that margin and briefly capture the lead.  Trinity answered immediately with an 8-0 run to go up by six with 1:19 left in the half.  After a missed three by DePauw in the final 20 seconds, Brian Oilar was able to get a tip-in for a basket to make it 35-31 in favor of Trinity, but Charles Houston nailed a three at the buzzer to give the home team the seven-point lead at the break.

The second half saw Trinity quickly push that lead to 11 points, but DePauw's 11-2 run cut it to a one-possession game early in the second.  With 6:04 left, Trinity pulled ahead 60-55, but DePauw answered with back-to-back buckets to tie the game 61 seconds later.  DePauw then pulled ahead 68-64 with just over two minutes left, but Trinity hit 3-4 free throws on its next two scoring chances to make it 68-67 DePauw. 

The visitors then sank a pair of foul shots with 24 seconds left to go up 70-67, and Trinity hit just 1-2 from the line on its next possession.  DePauw missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 14 seconds to play, setting Trinity up for a game-winning chance in the final seconds.  Patrick Robinson's three-point attempt went long, though, and Trinity fell for the second straight game.

Houston led Trinity with 18 points on 6-8 shooting, also grabbing five rebounds in his 33 minutes of playing time.  Houston hit both of his three-point attempts and all four free throw tries.

B.J. Moon scored 16 points for Trinity, while Robinson chipped in with 10 points.  Mike Gilb and Nick Polidoroff led the team with six rebounds each.

Ryan Werntz led all scorers with 21 points for DePauw, hitting 7-9 from the field - including 5-7 threes.  Mike Moore added 11 points for DePauw, while Stephen Schott and Steve Lemasters chipped in with 10 points each.

Trinity will face Southwestern on the road next Friday night, followed by a home game against the University of Dallas on Saturday.