SUWANEE, Ga. - Austin College, Birmingham-Southern and Colorado Colorado College all posted perfect 2-0 records in SCAC play during the week of January 9th-16th. Austin College extended its winning streak to four games while the Panthers of BSC are riding a seven game win streak. Colorado College has won three straight.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College extended its winning streak to
four games with two SCAC wins over Eastern Division teams in
Millsaps (68-47) and Rhodes (68-59). With the wins, the Kangaroos
are now 10-6 overall and 6-1 in SCAC play and remain atop the SCAC
West Division standings. Against Millsaps, Austin College was led
by Antoine Thompson’s 15 points on 6 for 9 shooting. A total
of four Kangaroos scored in double-figures. The ‘Roos
out-rebounded Millsaps by a 36-29 margin. Against Rhodes, AC was
led by Jordan Hancock’s game-high 22 points on 7 of 15
shooting. He also added three rebounds. Once again four ‘Roos
scored in double-figures to lead the way. Austin College returns to
action on January 20 when they travel to Birmingham-Southern and
Oglethorpe on January 22, respectively.
No. 14 Birmingham-Southern won both of its games
this week, extending its winning streak to seven games. The
Panthers defeated Southwestern on Friday, 81-62, and Trinity on
Saturday, 66-58. Against the Pirates, junior Kevin Kegarise led all
players with 16 points, followed by senior Jasen Jonus with 14,
senior Caleb Lee with 11, and sophomore Griffin Schamp with 10.
Junior Zac Richards led with eight rebounds, and sophomore Jason
Holland led with five assists and three steals. Against Trinity,
Lee led BSC with 14 points, shooting 4-of-5 from the field and
6-of-8 from the free throw line. Jonus also scored 12 points, and
sophomore Nick Murphy had 11. Richards led with eight rebounds and
junior Blaise White had four assists and three steals. The Panthers
return home this weekend, hosting Austin College, Friday, and
University of Dallas, Saturday, both at 8 p.m. in Bill Battle
Coliseum.
Centre went on the road this week to take on two
Western Division foes. The Colonels played at Colorado College on
Friday night. Centre fell behind early and played from behind the
entire game. The Colonels did manage to come back and cut the lead
to a point with 26 seconds to go, but Colorado hit their free
throws down the stretch and won the game 62-57. Greg Ross was the
leading scorer in the game with 27 points on 12-18 shooting. On
Sunday Centre played the Hendrix Warriors in Conway. Hendrix kept
it close for a half, but the Colonels blew the game open in the
second half thanks to some blistering shooting. Donovan Whiteside
led Centre with 18 points while Josh Karsner, Collin Lopez and Jeff
Mullaney each scored in double figures for the Colonels, who pulled
away to a 77-65 victory. Centre will play host to Southwestern and
Dallas this week.
Playing at home for just the third and fourth times this season,
Colorado College defeated Centre and Sewanee in
its first games against East Division teams this season. Sophomore
guard Ryan Milne scored a season-high 26 points, but the Tigers
needed a pair of free throws by junior forward Ian Rewoldt with 24
seconds to play to secure a 62-57 victory over Centre on Friday
night. Sophomore guard Jake Tramutolo scored 14 of his career-high
21 points during the second half as Colorado College came from
behind to defeat Sewanee, 68-60, on Sunday afternoon. Tramutolo,
who tied his career high with five 3-pointers, drained a pair
during an 8-2 run, including one that tied the game at 53-53 with
4:54 to play. The Tigers go back on the road next weekend for games
at Millsaps and Rhodes.
Dallas (4-12, 2-5 SCAC) split two games during the week
to SCAC Eastern Division teams. Friday Rhodes visited the
Crusaders. Rhodes shot 56-percent (14-of-25) in the second half, to
pull away for an 86-74 victory. Tanner Bruffey racked up a
game-high 18 points for the Crusaders in defeat. Millsaps then
visited Dallas on Sunday afternoon. Trailing 50-48 to Millsaps with
3:20 to go in regulation, Bruffey sent the game to overtime on a
converted jumper from the top of the key with 13 seconds remaining.
Tied 50-50 entering overtime, Dallas went on a 6-0 run to end the
game in the final 1:31. Bruffey sank a layup at 1:03 of the extra
frame, before driving for the game-winning layup with 2.6 seconds
remaining to secure a 56-55 victory for the Crusaders. On the
schedule this week for Dallas are two SCAC road contests --
Oglethorpe (Friday, Jan. 20, at 8 p.m.) and Birmingham-Southern
College (Saturday, Jan. 8, at 3 p.m.).
Hendrix dropped a pair of games at home over the weekend,
falling to 71-57 to Sewanee on Friday and 77-65 to Centre on
Sunday. Against the Tigers, junior guard Jaren Riley led the way
with 17 points and had five rebounds. Sophomore forward Colton
Primm grabbed eight boards and blocked four shots. Freshman forward
Zach Mainer came off the bench for season best seven points and six
rebounds. On Sunday, senior center Nick Heathscott scored 21 points
to become the 29th player in Hendrix history to pass the 1,000
career point milestone. The Warriors will travel to Rhodes on
Friday and Millsaps on Sunday.
Millsaps struggles continued this past weekend as they
dropped two more games and lost their fifth straight game and sixth
out of their last seven. On Friday, the Majors fell behind early
and could not overcome a large deficit as they fell to the Austin
College 'Roos on Friday evening, 68-47. On Sunday, Millsaps looked
as though they were about to pick up a huge win over the University
of Dallas on Sunday afternoon to complete their seven game road
trip. However, the Crusaders converted on a layup with three
seconds remaining to knock of Millsaps 56-55 in overtime. Millsaps
falls to 6-9 overall and 1-5 in the SCAC. The Majors finally return
home on Friday as they host their White-Out Game at 8 p.m. against
Colorado College. All fans are encouraged to wear white and the
first 100 students to arrive and show their student ID will receive
a free White-Out t-shirt.
Oglethorpe split its two games in Texas last week, losing
76-54 to Trinity on Friday before finishing winning at Southwestern
77-55 on Saturday. Against Trinity, Oglethorpe was led by Alec
Pitts' 11 points and Andrew Steioff’s 10 points. The Stormy
Petrels committed were narrowly out-rebounded by a 31-29 margin.
Against Southwestern, Oglethorpe was led by Sam Purdy’s
game-high 18 points while three other Petrels also scored in
double-figures in the win. The Petrels were once again
out-rebounded but forced 25 Southwestern turnovers. Oglethorpe is
now 7-9 overall and 2-5 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference
play. OU returns to action on January 20 when they host Dallas and
then Austin College on January 22.
Rhodes splits its two road conference matchups
against the West Division, beating Dallas 86-74 and losing a tight
matchup against Austin College 68-59. Friday saw the Lynx grab hold
of an early second half lead against the Dallas Crusaders, but were
unable to put them away until five minutes remaining when sophomore
Patrick McGrail knocked down a three pointer from the corner to
take a 15 point lead. Six Lynx scored in double figures for the
balanced attack. In the second of a back to back, the Lynx fell to
Western Division leader Austin College by nine. Rhodes fought hard
on the road but could not mustard enough offensive production as
they struggled to shoot only 38% from the field. The Lynx return
home this weekend as they face Hendrix on Friday at 8 p.m. and
Colorado College on Sunday at 1 p.m.
Sewanee (8-6 overall, 3-4 SCAC) posted a record
of 1-2 on the week. The Tigers opened the week with a tough 56-54
overtime loss to Free Will Baptist on Tuesday before splitting a
pair of SCAC games with Hendrix (W 71-57) and Colorado College (L
68-60). Against Free Will Baptist, Valentino Bryant scored a
team-high 16 points for the Tigers. He also chipped in with five
assists and two blocks. Against Hendrix, Sewanee was again led by
Bryant’s game-high 14 points. Finally, Bryant finished the
Colorado College game with another team-high 14 points. The Tigers
held a slim 34-33 halftime lead on the strength of 62.5 percent
shooting. The second half proved different as Sewanee struggled to
shoot 36 percent from the floor in a close eight point loss.
Sewanee returns to action on January 20 and 21 hosting Trinity and
Southwestern, respectively.
Southwestern returned to SCAC play this weekend,
facing Birmingham-Southern on Friday night and Oglethorpe on
Saturday. SU played a gutsy game against east leading
Birmingham-Southern on Friday night, leading through the better
part of the first 30 minutes of the game, but ultimately fell after
a strong final push by the Panthers 81-62. Saturday the Pirates
found themselves trailing by 12 at halftime with an Oglethorpe team
that was on fire from three point range, but were able to pull
within nine points with nine minutes to play. A final run by the
Stormy Petrels allowed them to pull away to the 77-55 final. The
Pirates sit at 1-14 overall and 1-5 in the SCAC. They hit the road
this weekend to face Centre on Friday and Sewanee on Saturday.
Trinity split a pair of SCAC home games this weekend,
defeating Oglethorpe 76-54 on Friday, but falling 66-58 against
19th-ranked Birmingham-Southern on Saturday. The Tigers fall to 2-3
all-time against BSC, having lost each of the past two meetings.
Trinity had previously lost two straight regular season meetings
against Oglethorpe (though the Tigers did defeat the Petrels in the
SCAC Tournament in 2009-10). The Tigers are now 17-5 (including
conference tournament games) against Oglethorpe under head coach
Pat Cunningham. Trinity will be on the road for two more conference
tilts next weekend, taking on Sewanee and Centre on Friday and
Saturday nights. The Tigers defeated Sewanee 58-40 on the road last
year, but lost 73-61 at Centre. Trinity has lost each of its past
three meetings with the Colonels, but has won 11 in a row over
Sewanee – dating back to the 2003-04 season.
For the complete SCAC Men's Hoops Weekly for Week
8, click here.