The Colorado College men's basketball team dropped a challenging game against the No. 9 team in the country, Trinity, by a final score of 69-84 on Friday night at Reid Arena. 
 
The Tigers played the game close until the final few minutes of the second half, and Trinity took advantage of the time at the charity stripe to remain undefeated on the season. CC made one less field goal than TU, but Trinity had 41 free throw attempts and converted 28 of them. 
 
CC outrebounded TU 44-42. Dinari Boykin led the scoring for CC with 19 points and 10 rebounds, his fourth double-double on the season. He also added one block and two steals on the defensive end of the court. Scott Ruegg followed suit with 13 points, three boards, three assists and a steal. 
 
"Tough loss for us tonight," head coach Jeff Conarroe said. "Trinity is really good. We played an excellent first half and couldn't finish. Turnovers and Trinity's 41 free throw attempts compared to our 20 combined with points in the paint were the difference."
 
The first half was an electric pendulum-swinging matchup with numerous lead changes from both teams. CC built an 8-2 lead three minutes into the game after Devin Philio scored inside the paint for his first set of points. 
 
Trinity countered to cut the lead down and eventually take over with 7:45 remaining in the first. TU held onto the lead until Dinari Boykin caught a spark and went on a flurry to tie the game up at 33 a piece with a jumper with 3:01 left before the break. 
 
TU regained the lead momentarily for the final minutes of the half, but freshman Ty Hendler drilled a crucial three-pointer with 34 seconds left to tie the game 39-39 heading into the half. 
 
The second half shifted regarding the game's pace, and Trinity took advantage of some CC foul trouble. TU pulled ahead as the contest lingered, and CC's shooting had difficulty keeping up. CC shot 30.56 percent in the second from the floor compared to 50.00 percent in the first half. 
 
The Tigers also went 1-16 from three-point range in the second half. They ended the game shooting 3-24 from long distance.
 
CC's bench did outshoot TU's bench 35-28. Ty Hendler continues to be a bright spot in the young core. The San Diego, CA native made his fifth consecutive start and scored a career-high 10 points alongside four rebounds and an assist.
 
SCAC foe Schreiner will visit Reid Arena on Sunday with a tip-off time of 1 p.m. MT. 
 
"No time to wallow in our sorrows," Conarroe said. "Schreiner is coming in Sunday and they are a heck of a team too."