SAN ANTONIO — The Southwestern University Pirates men's basketball team survived a late Trinity University Tigers' surge, holding on to pick up a 73-71 road victory. 

Brandon Alexander led the Pirates with a gritty 17 points, working his way to the free-throw line for seven attempts, hitting all of them, including a pair with three seconds remaining to seal the win. 

The reigning SCAC Player of the Year scored 14 in the second half and pulled down five of his six rebounds after the break. 

Southwestern struggled from the field early, shooting only 13-for-41 in the first half (31.7 percent), including 3-for-16 from beyond the 3-point line (18.8 percent). The Pirates made up for it with a strong effort on the glass, out-rebounding Trinity 29-17 before the break. 

First-year big man Zac Black did the bulk fo the work early, pulling down four offensive rebounds in the first half, scoring seven points on three shots with two assists to lead the Pirates to a 36-30 lead at the half. 

Southwestern opened the second half strong, building a 15-point lead with 12:16 remaining on a Joel Martinez 3-pointer. 

Trinity clawed its way back with a balanced attack, getting nine second-half points each from David Nickell and Ben Hanley, along with seven off the bench for AJ Clark. 

Martinez and Alexander proved too much, however, with Martinez scoring all 11 of his points in the second half on 4-for-7 shooting with two of his four assists. Kyle Poerschke also scored in double figures for the Pirates, finishing with 11 points and five rebounds. 

Hanley led Trinity with 18 points on 14 shots with five rebounds and five assists. Ben Canady scored 10 for the Tigers with three steals and two assists. 

Southwestern out-rebounded Trinity 55-40 for the game, taking a 19-6 advantage in second-chance points. The Pirate bench outscored their counterparts 31-21. 

With the win, the Pirates improve to 9-9 on the season and 5-6 in conference play. Southwestern will host Texas Lutheran University next Friday, Jan. 31 at 5:30 p.m.