SUWANEE, Ga. - With only two weeks left in the regular season, only two spots remain for the 2010 SCAC Basketball Tournament Feb 26-28 in Jackson, Miss.. DePauw, Centre, Oglethorpe and Rhodes clinched bids in the East. Meanwhile, Austin College and Southwestern have wrapped up spots in the West.

AROUND THE SCAC

Austin College improved to 16-5 overall and 9-3 in SCAC play after a 2-0 week, topping non-conference opponent the University of Dallas 79-52 before using a huge run stretching from midway through the first half into the second half to knock off Colorado College 80-61. Against UD, the ‘Roos led by just four midway through the first half but pulled away to take a nine point halftime lead, and a big run early in the second half helped the team cruise to the victory. Kola Alade scored 12 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Taylor Beatty also scored 12, while Chris Sturtevant chipped in 10 as 15 different Austin College players got into the scoring column. Against Colorado College, the ‘Roos broke open a 20-20 game with a 43-12 run spanning into the second half to pull away for the 19 point victory. Alade was the only AC player to reach double figures, scoring 20 points and adding 10 rebounds in the game.

Birmingham-Southern remains unbeaten at home, taking two more East Division games against Oglethorpe and Sewanee. Friday the Panthers got revenge on the Petrels for handing BSC its first loss of the season back on New Year’s Day in Atlanta. This time, a strong second half led the Panthers to the 78-61 win. ‘Southern won again on Sunday despite another slow start, this time against Sewanee, winning 58-41 over the Tigers. A bad shooting night on both sides of the court kept the score low, but the Panthers were able to take control in the second half to put the game out of reach. The wins put BSC in sole possession of first place in the East with just three games to go. They will host Rhodes this Saturday in Birmingham before closing out the SCAC schedule the following weekend at Centre and DePauw.

Centre snapped two streaks Saturday in its 63-56 win over DePauw in Greencastle. The Colonels snapped their own three-game losing streak as well as the 20-game home winning streak by the Tigers. DePauw's last home loss also came against Centre back on February 16, 2008. After shooting 39.1% (9-23) in the opening half, the Colonels caught fire in the second half making 65.0% (13-20) of their shots to finish the game at 51.2%. Centre has now won six of its last eight meetings against the Tigers and is now 11-8 overall and 7-5 in the SCAC. The Colonels will play Oglethorpe and Sewanee on the road this week.

Nick Rose scored a game-high 23 points but Austin College avenged its loss to Colorado College in early January by defeating the Tigers, 80-61, on Saturday. Rose became the 28th Tiger to score 400 or more points in a single season and his current total of 428 points ranks as the 23rd-highest single-season total in the program's history. During Sunday’s non-conference game at the University of Dallas, CC coughed up 17 turnovers and made just 16 of 29 free-throw attempts in the 66-55 loss to the Crusaders. Rose recorded his second-double-double of the season with a game-high 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Brady Ohlsen added his fourth double-double with 10 points and 15 rebounds. Colorado College plays host to Southwestern University and Trinity University on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Host DePauw was scoreless for a 4:37 stretch late in the second half as Centre broke free from a 49-49 tie with 10 straight points on the way to a 63-56 win over the Tigers. The loss snapped DePauw's 20-game win streak at the Neal Fieldhouse with the last loss also coming at the hands of the Colonels on February 16, 2008. Bryon Ellis nailed a three near the end of the opening 20 minutes to send Centre to a 24-22 lead at the break. Centre extended the margin to six at 30-24, but the Tigers battled back to take a 41-36 advantage after Steve Lemasters knocked down a three with 13:02 left. Tom Callen hit a pair of free throws, Sean Haseley nailed a three and then two charity tosses with 1:01 left close the Centre gap to 59-56. Centre's Matt Griggs hit two free throws with 26 seconds remaining to push the lead back to five, but the Tigers turned the ball over on their next possession and Centre's Jeff Mullaney sealed the win with two free throws. Tony James scored a career-high 19 in the win, while Callen added 13.

Hendrix dropped a pair of West Division games in Texas over the weekend. The Warriors suffered a 78-56 loss to Trinity on Friday night and then lost a heart breaker to Southwestern on Saturday, 60-58. The Warriors are now 6-13 overall and 3-10 in conference play. Trinity shot 55.6 percent from the field and used a balanced scoring attack with five players in double figures, to hand Hendrix the loss. Trinity used a 13-2 run over a three minute span to lead by 20, 64-44, with 6:56 left in regulation. Hendrix junior forward Ryan Rizos raced down the court and missed a last-second layup to conclude a nail biting affair at Southwestern on Saturday evening. The see saw affair featured 12 lead changes and seven ties, with the final three minutes including four lead exchanges. The Pirates speeded down the court and found junior forward Jonathan Brown open for a jumper just outside the paint with 00:04 ticks left. Rizos missed a running jumper that rattled off the back of the rim as time expired. Neither team led by more than six points the entire game.

Millsaps was swept in a Texas road trip against Southwestern and Trinity to fall to 9-13 overall and 5-8 in the conference. The Majors scored a season-low 39 points Friday night at Southwestern in a 53-39 loss. Millsaps shot 13 percent from behind the arc going 3-for-24. Freshmen Quinn Lemieux and Nick Cortese scored a team-high seven points to lead the Majors. Sunday afternoon, Millsaps carried a 14-point lead into halftime only to see Trinity rally in the second half and win 60-59 on a layup by Peter Garatoni with two seconds remaining in the game. Senior Blake Martinez’s shot at the buzzer rimmed out as Millsaps suffered its fifth straight road loss and finished the season just 1-9 away from The Hangar Dome. Martinez was the only Millsaps player to reach double figures scoring 23 points. Next up is a match-up with conference opponent Hendrix College at The Hangar Dome on Feb. 13 at 3 p.m.

Oglethorpe team split two road contests this past weekend, falling to Birmingham-Southern (78-61) on Friday and topping Rhodes College (86-72) on Sunday. The Panthers scored on their first six possessions after intermission and built a 46-38 lead. Wade Weldon led all Petrel scorers with 16 points on 6 of 10 shooting and Todd Ward made 5 of 8 shots to post 12 points and three rebounds. Erik Strong added 10 points on 8 of 9 shooting from the foul line to round out the Petrels in double figures with. On Sunday against the Lynx, the Petrels used three separate scoring spurts of 10 or more unanswered points to build a 29 point first half advantage and cruised to an easy road victory. Alex Richey led five Petrels in double figures with 15 points, four rebounds and three assists. Weldon recorded a double-double with 12 points and 10 rebounds and Ward notched 10 points and six boards. Oglethorpe is now 12-9 on the season and 7-6 in SCAC play. The Petrels return home to face Centre College this Friday at 8:00 p.m.

Rhodes split their two weekend games, beating Sewanee 60-44 and dropping an 86-72 decision to Oglethorpe. In Friday night’s contest senior Reid Hamilton led all scorers with 15 points. Hamilton also grabbed a game high nine rebounds. Senior Andyshea Saberioon also chipped in 15 points while dishing out four assists. Freshman Andrew Galow scored nine points, dished five assists and grabbed six rebounds. The Lynx held the Tigers to just 28% from the field for the game. In the Sunday afternoon game the Lynx could not overcome a shaky start as they spotted the Stormy Petrels a 26 point halftime lead. Sophomore Kory Kilpatrick led the Lynx with a game high 22 points and grabbed eight rebounds. Hamilton recorded a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds. Junior Nathan Ollie scored 14 points to round out the double digit scorers for the Lynx.

Sewanee played its last full SCAC road weekend this weekend and dropped a pair of league games to Rhodes on Friday and Birmingham-Southern Sunday. Garrett Hollingsworth led the Tigers with eight points on Friday and on Sunday, freshman Brett Bouldin was in double digits will 11 points. The Tigers are 4-17 and 1-12 in the SCAC. They will host DePauw and Centre this weekend.

Southwestern defended its home court going 2-0 this weekend to secure a spot in the SCAC postseason tournament and improve to 16-6 overall and 9-4 in conference action. A strong defensive presence was key in both games as the Pirates had a lower shooting percentage than they are accustomed to. Friday night SU held Millsaps to their lowest point total of the season, 39 points, to secure the win and avenge a loss in Jackson earlier in the season. Saturday was a nail-bitter as Hendrix came out strong with an upset on their mind. Junior Jonathan Brown’s low-post jumper with five seconds gave Southwestern the 60-58 lead just seconds after the Warriors’ Rizos made a jumper to tie the game at 58. Rizos’ shot at the buzzer bounced out as the Pirates survived the scare and won 60-58. SU heads out on their last road trip of the regular season and look to regain first place as they face Colorado College and Austin College this weekend.

Trinity swept its final home weekend of the regular season, defeating Hendrix and Millsaps on Friday and Sunday. Trinity has now won four consecutive games after also sweeping last weekend’s SCAC series against Birmingham-Southern and Rhodes. After running away with a lopsided win against Hendrix on Friday, Trinity had its hands full in Sunday’s game against Millsaps. Trailing by as many as 16 points in the second half, the Tigers refused to go quietly, fighting back to within one after a late three-point basket. After a defensive stop, Trinity’s Peter Garatoni took a pass under the basket from Ryan Beall, and scored a layup with just two seconds remaining to go ahead 60-59. After a last-second shot by Millsaps bounced off the rim, Trinity had earned the season series split, and stayed alive in the race for a spot in the SCAC Tournament. Trinity will travel to Austin College and Colorado College next weekend, continuing conference play. Earlier this season, the Tigers lost to Austin College 69-59, but defeated Colorado College 60-50 in San Antonio.

For the complete SCAC Men's Hoops Weekly for Week 11, click here.