LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference league play picked back up, as the first weekend of 2013 saw all six league teams in action. Colorado College put an end to Trinity's seven game winning streak with a 68-66 win in San Antonio. The win gave the Colorado College Tigers sole possession of first place in the SCAC.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College trailed by just one with 28
seconds left but could not overcome Centenary College, falling
59-56 to the Gents on Saturday. The 'Roos are now 3-12 overall and
0-5 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play with the loss.
The 'Roos found themselves down 57-49 with 1:26 to play, but a
three pointer by Jimmy King and a pair of baskets by Alen Michael
and Walter Phillips cut it to a one point margin, but that's as
close as the 'Roos would get. Phillips scored a team-high 14 points
and added eight rebounds to lead the 'Roos, while Antoine Thompson
and Michael each scored 10 points in the loss.
Centenary (6-7, 2-3 SCAC) finished 1-1 this week,
losing to ETBU March 31st 68-64 and beating Austin
College 59-56 on Saturday. Freshmen Brett Bell led the Gents in
scoring against ETBU with 15 points, while senior Jonathan Blount
and sophomore Caden Cheramie added 12 and 10 respectively. The
victory on Saturday against Austin College snapped a five game
losing streak for Centenary as they held off a late run and got a
key defensive steal to close the game. Blount had a game high 25
points, 15 of them coming in the second half. Sophomore Saro
Ntagha, who came up with the big steal at the end, was the other
player in double figures reaching 10. Centenary continues its
five-game homestand Friday, Jan. 11 at 8 p.m. against
Southwestern.
Junior guard Ryan Milne and sophomore forward Chris Lesnansky combined for 34 points and 12 rebounds as Colorado College snapped a three-game skid with a 57-50 victory at Southwestern on Friday night. Milne made five of 10 attempts from behind the arc to help the Tigers overcome a nine-point deficit with 23 seconds remaining in the first half. Lesnansky scored 13 of his game-high 19 points during the second half, including four consecutive free throws during the final 35 seconds to help seal the victory. CC overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to claim sole possession of first place with a 68-66 victory at Trinity. Junior guard Jake Tramutolo went 3-for-3 from behind the arc to cap a 25-12 run to open the second half. His trey with 13:10 remaining gave the Tigers their first lead since early in the first half. Lesnansky paced Colorado College with 18 points and nine rebounds. Tramutolo finished with 12 points, while Milne added with 11 and four assists. Milne moved up to No. 23 on the program’s all-time list with 865 career points. Freshman forward James Lonergan came off the bench to record season highs of nine points and eight boards, with all but one rebound coming in the second half. After making just four of 16 three-point attempts during the first half, CC went 5-for-10 from behind the arc in the final 20 minutes. The teams meet in Colorado Springs on Saturday, Jan. 26. The Tigers play host to Johnson and Wales University on Tuesday night before returning to the Lone Star State for a pair of games at the University of Dallas.
Dallas (8-4, 3-1 SCAC) currently sits third in the SCAC after a 1-1 week on the road in conference. The Crusaders were bested in San Antonio on Friday evening by Trinity, who took the bout 76-46. On Saturday evening, head coach Jarred Samples' squad was able to stave off Southwestern in Georgetown to capture a 73-71 double overtime victory. In the triumph, senior guard Drew Assinesi provided the game-winner on a layup with nine seconds remaining. Junior forward Ross Davidson finished tied for a game-high 18 points with Southwestern's Michael Cantu.
Southwestern dropped two hard fought games over the weekend to fall to 5-9 on the year and 1-3 in the SCAC. Poor free throw shooting cost the Pirates the win on Friday night against Colorado College. SU went just 7-15 from the charity stripe and lost 57-50. Southwestern adjusted and played well against the University of Dallas on Saturday, Regulation wasn't enough time to settle the score as the game went into double overtime before a winner was awarded. UD's last second runner gave them the edge as Southwestern fell 73-71. SU hits the road to face Centenary College and Austin College this week.
Trinity split a home weekend in the SCAC,
defeating the University of Dallas on Friday, but ending with a
two-point defeat against Colorado College on Sunday afternoon.
Sunday’s loss snapped a seven-game winning streak for the
Tigers, and was also the team’s first SCAC loss of the
season. After falling behind by seven in the waning minutes,
Trinity stormed back with five unanswered points to cut it to a
one-possession game again. Colorado made just 2-4 free throws down
the stretch, putting Trinity down two with five seconds to
play. The Tigers made a bid to tie the game, but the final
shot bounced off the rim, and Colorado escaped with the win.
Trinity will be back in action this weekend, facing off against
Austin College and Centenary for the second time this season. The
Tigers swept the two teams earlier in the year – also on the
road – winning by eight over Centenary, and by 18 against
Austin.
To view the entire SCAC Hoops Weekly for Week 7,
click here.
