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Photos | Recap | Box Score
Centre Rallies to Beat Trinity Men
San Antonio -- The defending SCAC champion Centre Colonels had a strong second half and beat the Trinity Tigers men 73-61 Saturday night in Sams Gym.
Trinity, which beat DePauw Friday night, now stands at 8-9 and 5-4 SCAC. Centre improved to 13-3 and 8-1. The Colonels had eliminated the Tigers in the semifinals of last year's SCAC Tournament.
Tiger sophomore forward Heath Hopson (Lampasas, Texas/Lampasas) paced Trinity with 15 points, hitting 5-9 from the field.
Senior forward Luke Caldarera (Houston/Katy Taylor) added 14 points, and was the Tigers' top rebounder with nine boards. Sam Dworkin (Portland, Ore./Lincoln), a senior forward, scored 12 points, and shot 4-6 from the field and 2-3 beyond the arc.
The Tigers held a 35-32 lead at halftime, and shot 50 percent from the field, to 44 percent for Centre.
The second half was a different story as Centre hit 63 percent of its shots, to 32 percent for Trinity. The scored was tied at 40-40 with 16:23 left in the game, and then Centre took a 51-41 lead at 12:36. The Tigers were not about to give up, as they pulled to within two points (54-56) on a layup by Hopson at 8:23. But the Colonels gained their first double-digit lead of the final four minutes, with with a 68-57 margin. Centre outscored Trinity 41-26 in the second half of play.
Five Colonels scored in double figures, and were led by Jeff Mullaney and Collin Lopez with 13 points each. Donovan Whiteside had a double-double, with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Trinity shot 41.2 percent (21-51) for the game, and Centre hit 52.4 percent (22-42). The Colonels also led 36-20 in rebounding, and held a 30-16 advantage in defensive boards.
The Tigers play two SCAC road games next weekend, beginning Friday at Memphis, Tenn., for a match-up with Rhodes. Trinity meets Birmingham-Southern Saturday, Jan. 29, at Birmingham, Ala. The next home game is a SCAC contest with Colorado College on Friday, Feb. 11.
