Birmingham, Alabama - Trinity's men's basketball team opened its part in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship Tournament with a 60-53 win over Sewanee: University of the South on Friday night.

Trinity (18-8) earned its ninth consecutive victory with the win, which also avenged a three-point loss at Sewanee earlier this season.

After a low-scoring first half, the two teams scored even fewer points in the second.  Trinity led 33-30 at the break, shooting just under 43% in the half.  Sewanee shot 38% in the first half, but was held to just 32% shooting over the final 20 minutes.  Trinity made just seven field goals in the second half, though four of those were three-pointers. 

Trinity led most of the first half, but the lead never got larger than six points.  Sewanee scored a late bucket to take a one-point lead before the half, but Trinity scored two straight baskets to pull ahead at halftime.

In the second half, Trinity pushed the lead up to as much as 11 points (45-34), but Sewanee was able to hang in throughout the game - thanks in part to 10-14 free throws in the second half. 

With an 11-3 run in the middle of the second period, Sewanee was able to cut the lead to just three (50-47) with 6:36 to play, then down to just two (52-50) a couple of possessions later.  Trinity answered with baskets on two of its next three possessions, holding Sewanee scoreless to make it a 56-50 game with two minutes to play.

After Sewanee missed four shots to try and cut into the lead, and Trinity missed a shot and two free throws, Sewanee got to within three with less than a minute remaining.  Trinity hit four straight free throws to ice the win, though, and Sewanee missed its final three shots.

Trinity's Zach Lambert led all scorers with 15 points in the game, connecting on 7-14 from the field, and collecting five rebounds.  Robert Kitzinger was the only other Trinity player in double figures, scoring 10 points.

Ryan Beall just missed a double-double with nine points and nine rebounds, while Jonathan Wilt tied for the team lead with nine rebounds - also adding seven points and three blocks.  Matt Selling came off the bench with eight points.

Tyler Brown led Sewanee with 11 points and 11 rebounds, while Brett Bouldin came off the bench to also score 11 points.

Trinity advances to tomorrow's SCAC Tournament Semifinals, and will face Rhodes College at 3:00 p.m.