Trinity Men's Basketball Closes Out Season with Win Over Dallas

Irving, Texas - The Trinity Tigers men's basketball team wrapped up its regular-season campaign with a 63-55 non-conference victory Saturday night over the University of Dallas  Crusaders at Maher Center.

The Tigers, who have won three straight games, improved to 13-12 overall. The Crusaders dropped to 11-13.

Trinity junior forward Luke Caldarera of Houston (Katy Taylor), led the game with 22 points, one point shy of his season high. Caldarera shot 9-14 from the field, and tied for the team lead in rebounds, with seven. He earlier reached the 900-career points mark.

Senior guard Michael Tobolowsky of Dallas (Greenhill School), added 17 points, on 6-7 shooting from the field, and 3-4 in 3-point range. Tobolowsky also accounted for seven rebounds and five steals.

Bart Taylor, a senior guard from San Antonio (St. Mary's Hall), grabbed six rebounds, and scored seven points. Sophomore guard Ryan Beall of Santa Barbara, Calif. (Dos Pueblos), also put up seven points, along with three assists and two steals.

Dallas was paced by Jim Norton's 19 points. Travis Ekmark had a double-double with 16 points and 10 rebounds.

The Tigers, who led 33-25 at halftime, shot 57 percent in the first half, to 37 percent for the Crusaders. Shooting played a major role in the game, as Trinity registered a season-high from the field, at 56.8 percent (25-44). Dallas hit 38.9 percent (21-54). Trinity held a 34-27 advantage in rebounding.

Trinity will compete Feb. 26- 28 at the eight-team Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Tournament at Millsaps in Jackson, Miss. At stake is an automatic bid to the NCAA Division III playoffs. Trinity stands at 9-7 in conference play, and is tied with Southwestern for second place in the SCAC West Division. The Tigers were 58-49 winners over Southwestern last Friday at Georgetown, Texas.

SCAC Tournament pairings are forthcoming.