GEORGETOWN - The Southwestern University men's basketball team dropped a double overtime thriller to rival Trinity University on Saturday afternoon at the Robertson Center, 101-96, in SCAC men's basketball play.
The Pirates shot 28 of 63 (44%) from the field and a red hot 16 of 33 (49%) from behind the arc. The Pirates shot 24 of 35 (69%) from the charity striple. On the other end, the Tigers shot 32 of 68 (47%) from the field, 8 of 24 (33%) from deep, and 29 of 45 (64%) at the free throw line.
Southwestern outrebounded Trinity 42-40, but turned the ball over 22 times to Trinity's 16. The Tigers dominated the paint, outscoring Southwestern 44-16. Trinity also held a 59-32 advantage in bench points.
After Trinity opened the game with the first two points, Southwestern went on a 16-4 run in the first eight and a half minutes to take a 16-6 advantage. The Pirates used the 3-point shot to take the lead, hitting four 3-pointers during the run including two from sophomore Brandon Alexander, one from sophomore Ryan Wheeler, and one from sophomore Justin McCormack.
Sophomore Andrew Puhl and McCormack followed that up with 3-pointers to extend the lead to 11 at 22-11.
Trinity was able to cut it back down to five points, getting down to 34-29 with 4:32 to play in the half. Southwestern closed the half by outscoring Trinity 11-4 to take a 45-33 lead into the break.
The Pirates continued to maintain a double digit lead through the first part of the second half, but Trinity began to make a move midway through the second half, cutting the deficit down to three with 9:49 to go.
Southwestern built the lead back out to seven, but Trinity continued to fight back, making it a one point game at 75-74 with 1:34 to play. Southwestern went 1 of 2 from the line to make it 76-74, but a pair of Trinity free throws tied it back at 76 and forced overtime.
In the first overtime, Southwestern opened up an 82-77 lead, but Trinity outscored Southwestern 6-1 in the next two minutes to tie it again at 83. The Tigers got a lay in with two seconds to play and looked as though they were going to escape Georgetown with a win, but sophomore Luke Hicks drew a foul and hit a pair of free throws to even the score at 85.
In double overtime, the Pirates again opened up a five point lead at 93-88, but Trinity responded instantly to tie it at 93. The two teams went back-and-forth before Trinity took a 97-94 lead. Southwestern got opportunities in the final minute, but could not find a way as they eventually suffered the home loss.
Alexander was terrific, scoring 29 points on 7 of 14 shooting including six 3-pointers, eight rebounds, and two steals. Wheeler scored 13 points while sophomore Kyle Howard scored 12 points to go with five assists. Hicks finished with nine points, four rebounds, and four assists.
Stephen Molina and Matthew Colliflower led Trinity off the bench with 19 points each while Isaiah Specks added 18 points.
Southwestern goes to 6-9 overall and 2-2 in SCAC play. They go back on the road, heading to the mountains on Friday as they take on Colorado College at 6:30 PM.
