The inside scoring of Chase Heins and George Kuhlman led Trico to a hard-fought 59-52 win over Carnahan, Missouri Tuesday morning in the Carbondale Holiday Tournament at the SIU Arena.
Heins finished with a game-high 21 points, while Kuhlman added 13 in the victory.
The Pioneers led 17-11 at the end of the first quarter and held a 31-26 lead at the break.
The Pioneers outscored Carnahan 28-26 in the second half to hang on to the win despite making just 7-of-16 free throws.
While Trico’s free throw shooting percentage was down, they were hot from the floor making 14-of-23 (60.9 percent) shots in the first half and 11-of-24 (45.8 percent) in the second half.
Carnahan, however, was just 21-of-56 (37.5 percent) from the field in the game.
The big difference in field goal percentage helped Trico overcome committing 18 turnovers.