LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – With just a couple weeks left before the 2015 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Championship, all eight teams continued conference play this week.
Four of the five at-large berths to the tournament have been secured, with host school University of Dallas receiving an automatic bid. Schreiner University and Austin College will battle it out over the next three games to fill in the last spot.
Texas Lutheran University and Southwestern University both posted sweeps of Trinity University and Schreiner, while Dallas posted a pair of wins over Colorado College and Centenary College.
The Gents of Centenary remain in the second spot in the conference, despite a loss on the road this weekend. Colorado College moved to a .500 record after splitting their weekend on the road, defeating Austin College, but falling to Dallas.
With less than three weeks remaining before the tournament, Texas Lutheran, Centenary, Southwestern, Colorado College and Dallas have all secured bids to the championship.
Austin College
The ‘Roos couldn’t come up with a win this
weekend, despite close games with Colorado College and Centenary at
home. To begin their matchups, the ‘Roos faced the CC Tigers,
falling 71-64. Coming off the bench, Eghosa Igbinosa and Alan
Sullivan each put up a team-leading 12 points. Igbinosa also tied
starter Austin Freet with seven rebounds to lead the squad. Brian
Baehl was the only member of the starting five to post a
double-digit scoring figure, while also adding five rebounds and
three assists. The ‘Roos shot .453 from the field, but just
.300 from beyond the arc in the game. The following night, AC
hosted Centenary, falling 72-68 to the Gents. Cedric Hudson posted
a team-high 16 points in the game, while two other ‘Roos
notched double-digit scoring figures. Kevin Graham had 11 points,
followed by 10 from Baehl, who also added five rebounds, four
assists and three steals. The ‘Roos shot .444 from the field,
and forced 15 turnovers by the Gents. Centenary, however, held a
44-33 rebounding advantage. The game featured 11 ties and 11 lead
changes throughout.
Centenary College
The Gents traveled to North Texas this weekend to take on
Dallas and Austin College, splitting their match-ups. Centenary
took on Dallas Friday night, falling in overtime to the Crusaders
87-84. Travion Kirkendoll posted a game-high 22 points, while
pulling down six rebounds and dishing out three assists. James Sapp
had another impressive game, putting up 18 points and grabbing 14
rebounds. Isaiah Whitaker rounded out the top-scorers with 11
points. The Gents shot .385 from the field, but .467 from beyond
the arc, led by Justin Cueto who shot a perfect 3-3 from
long-range. The Crusaders held a 50-39 rebounding advantage in the
game, leading to 11 second-chance points. Saturday evening,
Centenary took on Austin College, defeating the ‘Roos 72-68.
Sapp posted a game-high 24 points and 15 rebounds in the game,
while also dishing out three assists and grabbing a pair of steals.
Kirkendoll put up 15 points for the Gents, followed by 11 and 10
from Donovan Williams and Kendall Demouchet, respectively. The
gents went 24-36 from the charity stripe, including 10 from Sapp
who went to the line for 15 shots. Fifteen offensive boards led to
11 second-chance points, while the Gents held a 44-33 rebounding
advantage over the ‘Roos. Both teams shot about .440 from the
field, but the extra free throws for the Gents proved to be the
difference maker as they made six free throws over the last two
minutes to sustain the lead.
Colorado College
The Tigers hit the road this weekend to take on Austin
College and Dallas, splitting their games. CC defeated Austin
College 71-64 Friday night led by Chris Lesnansky who posted a
game-high 24 points and nine rebounds. The senior shot 14-15 from
the charity stripe to lead the Tigers who missed just one
free-throw all night, shooting .952 from the line. Russell Clark
was the only other double-digit scorer for CC, posting 10 points.
Justin Berardino put up eight points, while grabbing five rebounds
and dishing out six assists. The Tigers held a 33-32 rebounding
advantage, using nine offensive boards to put up 11 second chance
points. CC also forced 11 turnovers by the ‘Roos, leading to
14 points. In the game, the lead changed 16 times, while the two
teams faced 15 ties throughout. The following night, Colorado
College took on Dallas, but fell 65-59 to the Crusaders. Lesnansky
led the team in scoring with 18 points, the only member of the CC
squad to post a double-digit number in the game. He also posted a
game-high nine rebounds. The Tigers shot .442 from the field and a
perfect 10-10 from the charity stripe.
University of Dallas
The Crusaders had a successful weekend, defeating both
Centenary and Colorado College at home. Friday night, it took an
extra five minutes, but UD took down former SCAC-leader Centenary
87-84. Four of the Crusaders’ five starters posted
double-digit scoring marks, led by 16 points from Aaron Wyatt. Mark
Promberger and Michael Sarrat each added 14 points, while Kym
Malone rounded out the top scorers with 10. Wyatt and Promberger
each posted a double-double, both marking a game-high 11 rebounds.
Malone dished out eight rebounds to lead the team. The Crusaders
shot .440 in the game and .438 from beyond the arc. On the
defensive side, UD held a 50-39 rebounding advantage over the
Gents, using 17 offensive boards to put up 11 second-chance points.
Throughout the game, the two teams faced 13 ties and 16 lead
changes. The following evening, Dallas hosted Colorado College,
taking down the Tigers 65-59. Sarrat led the team with 13 points in
the game, followed by 11 from both Blaine Blackburn and Wyatt.
Malone notched eight points, while also marking a game-high seven
assists. Wyatt pulled down six rebounds to lead the team. The
Crusaders shot .479 from the field and an impressive .571 from
beyond the arc, while holding CC to .188 from long-range. UD also
forced 16 turnovers by the Tigers, leading to 22 points.
Schreiner University
The Mountaineers traveled to Seguin, Texas Friday night
to take on the SCAC-leader Texas Lutheran, but fell 80-77 in a game
that featured four ties and 11 lead changes. Stevan Guerrero led
the team with 14 points, adding seven rebounds, five assists and a
steal on the night. Hollis Robinson and Jared Thompson each added
13 points, while Keenan Gumbs rounded out the top scorers with 12
points. Robinson posted a game-high eight rebounds and three steals
in 34 minutes of play. The Mountaineers shot .464 from the field
and .350 from long-range in the game. Despite forcing 15 turnovers
that led to 23 points for SU, the Mountaineers couldn’t stop
a hot-shooting TLU team. The following night, Schreiner took on
Southwestern, falling 69-62 to the Pirates. Guerrero led the
team’s scoring effort once again, posting 25 points in the
game. Robinson and Guerrero each grabbed a game-high eight
rebounds. The Mountaineers posted a 38-29 rebounding advantage in
the game, using 15 offensive boards to get 18 second-chance points.
The game remained close throughout, with the teams facing nine ties
and 11 lead changes.
Southwestern University
The Pirates made history this weekend, posting
Southwestern’s first regular season sweep of Trinity in
recent memory after defeating the Tigers 60-54 at home. In the
match-up, Chris Lee led the team with 18 points, followed by Zach
Whitlock with 14. Whitlock also posted a game-high 12 rebounds.
Blake Scott and Brandyn Hawk each dished out five assists in the
game, while Scott also posted a team-leading two steals. Both teams
shot .308 from the field and posted similar rebounding figures in
the game. The Pirates were able to capitalize on turnovers, forcing
10 by the Tigers which led to 10 points, and offensive rebounds,
putting up 13 second-chance points. The following night,
Southwestern hosted Schreiner, defeating the Mountaineers 69-62.
Adrian Johnson led the team with 14 points, shooting a perfect 6-6
from the charity stripe. Karrey Sanders added 12 points, while
Chris Molina and Lee rounded out the top scorers with 11 and 10
points, respectively. Whitlock posted six boards to lead the team
for the second night in a row, while Scott, Johnson and Hawk each
notched a game-high three assists. Scott also posted three blocks,
tying his season high.
Texas Lutheran University
The Bulldogs moved into the top spot in the conference
this weekend, defeating Schreiner on Friday and Trinity Saturday.
TLU’s wins this weekend became the first time the team has
posted 14 wins since 2003-04, and secured the team’s first
winning season since 2004-05. Friday night, the Bulldogs defeated
Schreiner 80-77 at home. Jordan Kouremetis posted a game-high 17
points. Zach Behr came off the bench for the Bulldogs to add 14
points, while Sterling Holmes marked 10. Holmes and Behr each
posted a team leading six rebounds, while Holmes also added six
assists on the night. The Bulldogs shot .521 from the field and
.381 from beyond the arc, while going 22-of-28 from the charity
stripe. Saturday night, TLU took down Trinity 81-67 led by Donte
McGee with 21 points and 10 rebounds. Kouremetis added 18 points in
the game, followed by 16 from Austin Pickens, who shot 4-of-5 from
long-range. Zach Behr rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10
points. The Bulldogs held a strong advantage through most of the
game, leading by as much as 20 points in the first half. Despite
committing 17 turnovers in the game, the Tigers weren’t able
to capitalize on the Bulldogs mistakes. TLU used nine offensive
boards to put up 17 second chance points.
Trinity University
The Tigers continued their season this weekend on the
road, taking on rival Southwestern Friday night, but falling 60-54.
Matt Selling came off the bench to lead the team with 14 points,
while Aaron Knopp was the team’s only other double-digit
scorer with 10 points. Knopp also pulled down eight rebounds and
marked three blocks, while Matt Jones posted a team-high nine
rebounds and two steals in the game. The Tigers shot .308 from the
field and .364 from beyond the arc. The following night, the Tigers
took on conference-leading Texas Lutheran, but fell 81-67 to the
Bulldogs. Selling earned a starting position and led the team once
again with 22 points, including five three-pointers. A.J. Pulliam
added 12 points in the game. Knopp and Khambrel Roach each pulled
down five rebounds to lead the team, while Jones dished out a
game-high five assists. The Tigers forced 17 turnovers by TLU, but
couldn’t stop the hot-shooting Bulldogs.