PALOS HEIGHTS, Ill. – Trinity would hold a 13-point advantage at the half, but were unable to hold the lead as the Trolls dropped a close matchup with Indiana South Bend, 77-75 inside DeVos Gymnasium on Saturday.

The Trolls came out strong, using a 12-0 run to go up 16-9 by the 11:26 mark. Near the end of the half, Marcus Green's jumper and a pair of free throws from Chris Cross pushed the lead to double digits, 36-24 with under two minutes until the halftime break. Cross' buzzer-beater made it a 40-27 game at the break, as the senior finished with 16 first-half points.

Indiana South Bend would close the gap at the start of the second half, opening with an 11-5 run that included back-to-back threes that cut the Trinity lead to 45-38 at the 15:52 mark.

A seven-minute drought with out a field goal for Trinity would allow the Titans to take a 51-50 lead with 10:43 left to play. The lead would change hands four more times, before Green's dunk at the 3:14 mark put the Trolls in front 72-67.

Two key three-pointers put the visitors back on top, before Danny Staskunas tied the game with under 90 seconds to play, 75-75. The Titans would reclaim the lead on a put-back bucket, and a pair of shots to pull even again would miss the mark for Trinity in the closing seconds.

Cross finished with a team-high 24 points, going 7-for-15 from the floor and 8-for-9 from the free throw line. Green tallied 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting with seven rebounds. Staskunas recorded 13 points and three assists on the day.

The Trolls will look to bounce back on Wednesday night, when they step outside of CCAC play to host East-West (Ill.) at 7:00 p.m.