Second Half Struggles Doom 'Roo Men's Hoops

The Austin College men's basketball team scored just two points in the first 10 minutes of the second half and that was enough for Trinity University to pull away on their way to a 56-44 win over the 'Roos on Friday night in Hughey Gym. The 'Roos are now 3-13 overall and 0-6 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play with the loss. 

Three pointers from Jimmy King and Jordan Hancock put Austin College up 8-3 early, but Trinity battled back and claimed an 11-10 lead with 10:40 left in the opening half. After four quick points from Kevin Graham put Austin College back on top by three, the Tigers scored seven unanswered to make it 18-14 with 3:36 left before the break. Joe Shotland's three made it 23-18 in favor of the Tigers, but Ransom Okpala banked in a jumper with two seconds remaining to make cut it to a 23-20 halftime deficit. 

Alvin Michael scored the first basket of the second half to trim it to a 23-22 game with 19:12 remaining, but the 'Roos would go nearly 10 minutes without a basket as the Tigers would score 14 in a row to make it 37-22 with 12:08 remaining. The 'Roos finally got on the board again with a pair of free throws from Aaron Anwary to make it 37-24 with 9:49 to play. 

The Trinity lead grew to 43-24 moments later, but the 'Roos battled back and cut it to a 47-36 game on a three from Hancock with 3:44 left. The 'Roos would get another three from Jimmy King to make it 50-39, but they would be unable to get the margin back into single digits.

King hit 3-of-6 from long range to finish with a team-high nine points for Austin College and Alen Michael added eight points and six rebounds as Austin College shot just 36.2% for the game and turned the ball over 24 times. 

Zach Lambert scored a game-high 14 points and Robert Kitzinger added 10 and seven rebounds as the only two players to hit double digits in the game.

Austin College is back in action tomorrow when they host Southwestern University at 8:00 p.m. 

Austin College athletic teams participate as a member of the NCAA Division III and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. 

About Austin College 

Austin College is a leading national independent liberal arts college located north of Dallas in Sherman, Texas. Founded in 1849, making it the oldest institution of higher education in Texas operating under original charter and name, the college is related by covenant to the Presbyterian Church (USA). Recognized nationally for academic excellence in the areas of international education, pre-professional training, and leadership studies, Austin College is one of 40 schools profiled in Loren Pope's influential book Colleges that Change Lives.