Santa Barbara, CA- The Trojans traveled to California this weekend to play in the 36^th Tom Byron Tournament, losing to Westmont College on Friday and British Columbia on Saturday, 69-91 and 60-97 respectively.

In the Friday game against host Westmont College (9-2), the Trinity International Men's Basketball team was halted in their tracks as the Westmont Warriors charged into the game.  In the first eight minutes, the Trojans were only able to score 5 points to Westmont's 23.  But, with 12:19 on the clock, the Trojans stepped it up and tripled their points in the following five minutes. A good jumper by Nate Ball helped the Trojans break free of their standstill, followed by a three-pointer by Zach Sweatman.  It seemed to be just what the team needed to bring the score to 28-42 at the end of the first half.

Dillon Wadsack carried the energy into the second half, leading off with a layup.  However, the team would only make 46.2% of attempted field goals; not much improved from the first half.  While Westmont only made 51.5% in the second half, they were able to bring the final score to 91-69.  Andres Marmolejo put on an impressive show for the Trojans and was the only Trojan to score in the double digits, producing a game high of 13 points and gathering in 5 defensive rebounds, 6 in total.

The Trojans entered the Saturday game against a good British Columbia team determined.  The first half showed promise; the Trojans pulled ahead for the first time all weekend, holding a five point lead in the 16^th minute.  The battle would be fierce in the next few minutes, but the ball got away from the Trojans after a turnover.  The University of British Columbia Thunderbirds would lead by nearly a 10 point margin until the end of the first half. 

The Trojans were able to reduce the margin to 7 points at the start of the second half, but three turnovers halted them there as the Thunderbirds took the score to 40-58 in the first two minutes of the half.  The Trojans ran out of steam, making only 29% of attempted field goals on the half.  Top scorers for Trinity were Nate Ball with 17 points on the game and Dillon Wadsack with 16 points on the game.  Nate Ball impressively converted 5 of his 6 free throws, and grabbed 9 rebounds for the team.

The Trojans will return in January to play Judson University at 7:00p, January 4, in Elgin, IL.