JOLIET, Ill. – Never trailing by double digits but for a few moments in the second half, Trinity battled their opponents to a draw before the halftime break, but came up short at St. Francis, falling on Saturday afternoon 61-52.

Jayden Bridgeman led the way for the Trolls (9-14, 5-12 CCAC), scoring 16 points on 7-of-15 shooting. Troy Glover recorded his eighth double-double of the year with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

After a scoring drought that didn't see a Trinity field goal for nearly the first four minutes of the game, the Trolls rallied to tie the game before the close of the first half, on a free throw from Brady Loerop at the 2:12 mark, 26-26. Glover's jumper in the closing seconds briefly gave the Trolls the lead, but a response from the host Saints (12-10, 11-6 CCAC) evened the score at the break, 28-28.

Despite four ties in the start of the second half, Trinity were unable to retake the lead as a quick 6-0 run pushed the St. Francis lead to 46-38 with 8:47 remaining. Noah Andringa's three-pointer moments later cut into the deficit, but that would be as close as Trinity would get the rest of the way as the Saints pulled away down the stretch.

The Trolls will look to bounce back on Wednesday night, when they host Governors State at DeVos Gymnasium. Tipoff with the Jaguars on February 8 is set for 7:30 p.m.