Purdue Calumet Falls on the Road at Trinity International, 70-62

PUC-PeregrinsDespite two strong performances from Ryan Rader and Noah Allen, the Purdue University Calumet men’s basketball team couldn’t overcome a hot Trinity International University team in a 70-62 Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference road loss Saturday.

Rader (Lombard, Ill./Willowbrook) scored 21 points on 10 of 15 shooting and added eight rebounds and Allen finished with 18 points on 7 of 11 shooting for the Peregrines (8-10, 3-5) who fell a Trojans’ (8-10, 4-5) which has won six straight games.

Senior Kaspars Brencans (Riga, Latvia/Florida Air Academy) added 10 points and seven boards and senior Aaron Davis (Peoria, Ill/Richwoods) had four points, four assists and a game-high 11 rebounds to round out the Peregrine leaders.

The Peregrines fell behind early, as TIU jumped out to a 16-6 lead at the 14:40 mark. Buckets by Allen and junior Duron Ivery (South Bend, Ind./Washington) helped trim the Trojans’ lead to six, 16-10, before the Peregrines went on a big run to take the lead.

With TIU back up eight, 18-10, Purdue Calumet used a 10-1 run go up one, 20-19, with 8:46 to go. Brencans started the run with a layup, followed by buckets by Ryan Henson (Valparaiso, Ind./Wheeler), Dayvohn Braxton (Indianapolis, Ind./Lawrence North), a triple by Allen, and finally capped by a Davis three-point play the old-fashioned way.

Both teams battled over the next five minutes before the Peregrines went up four, 30-26, on a Darric Obinger (Munster, Ind./Calumet Christian) steal and fast break layup. Rader’s three-point play with 30 seconds to go gave the Peregrines their largest lead of the game at eight, 35-27, heading into halftime.

TIU started the second half hot, opening with a 10-2 run to tie the game at 37-all with 15:20 to play. Neither team could gain a sizable advantage over the next seven minutes, as the game stood tied for the 11th time at 55 apiece at the 7:04 mark. That’s when the Trojans made their move, using a 12-2 run to gain a seven-point lead (64-57) with 4:52 left in regulation.

The home team hit their free throws down the stretch, finishing the game 29 of 35 from charity stripe compared to just 6 of 20 for the Peregrines, despite outrebounding TIU, 43-28. TIU also forced Purdue Calumet into 22 turnovers compared to just nine for TIU.

Purdue Calumet finished the game 48.1 percent (26-for-54) from the field compared to 35.2 percent (19-for-54) for the Trojans.

Justin Peeples led TIU with 26 points – including a 19 of 20 from the free throw line – and Thomas Amrine added 17 points.

The Peregrines return to action Wednesday, Jan. 21, when they host CCAC foe Trinity Christian in the second game of a doubleheader with the women’s teams beginning at 7 p.m. at the Fitness and Recreation Center.

Jan. 21 is also Meatheads night, as Purdue Calumet partners with the local burger restaurant to offer fans coupons and other prizes, including two chances to win $100 Meatheads gift cards with halftime half-court shot contest.