SUWANEE, Ga. - As the basketball season enters the final month of regular season play, the division races for spots in the 2010 SCAC Basketball Tournament are heating up. In the East, DePauw holds the top spot followed closely by Centre and Oglethorpe. In the West, only three games separates the No.1 seed Austin College(8-3 SCAC) through the No. 4 seed (Millsaps and Trinity 5-6 SCAC). 

The final weekend of cross division play saw the West rebound after a losing 10 of 12 games last week. Western division teams posted a 10-2 record, highlighted by a West six game sweep of the East on Jan. 29.

AROUND THE SCAC

Austin College swept DePauw and Centre to move to 14-5 overall and 8-3 in conference play, taking over sole possession of first place in the SCAC West with Colorado College coming to town this coming weekend. The ’Roos also take on non-conference opponent the University of Dallas on Wednesday. Austin College matched last season’s win total with a 70-66 victory over DePauw on Friday and passed that total with their 14th win, a 66-62 overtime thriller against Centre. Against DePauw, Kyle Lintelman tallied 21 points including five straight in the final 90 seconds of the game and added five steals in the win. Kola Alade added 15 points and Scott Straley finished with 11 points. Against the Colonels the ’Roos, who lead the conference in team free throw percentage, hit just 5-of-15 free throws in regulation but knocked down 6-of-8 in overtime to seal the win. Alade had a team-best 16 points and four steals while Lintelman added 12 points and five rebounds. Chris Sturtevant added 11 points and five boards and Arron Mewbourn had 10 points in the win.

Birmingham-Southern split their second West Division road trip, falling 68-65 to Trinity on Friday and beating Southwestern 67-59 on Saturday. The games put the Panthers’ record at 16-3 overall and 8-3 in conference play. Both game saw the Panthers struggle with shooting early. They got down as many as 17 in Friday’s game with the Tigers before getting going in the second half and the same was true on Saturday, getting down by as many as 10. The Panthers forced overtime on Friday, but couldn’t close the deal in the extra period, but they didn’t need any more time on Saturday to complete the comeback. The Panthers will resume Eastern Division play this weekend as they host Oglethorpe and Sewanee.

Centre dropped a pair of hard-fought SCAC road games losing to Colorado 61-59 Friday and then to Austin College 66-62 in overtime Sunday. The Colonels have now lost three straight games for the first time since the 2004-05 season. Centre shot under 40.0% in both games and turned the ball over a combined 14 times more than its opponent in the two defeats. The Colonels, now 10-8 overall and 6-5 in the SCAC, will travel to DePauw this weekend.

Nick Rose drained a fade-away jump shot with 44 seconds remaining to give Colorado College a 61-59 victory over Centre College on Friday night. Rose scored 16 of his game-high 24 points during the second half to help the Tigers overcome a seven-point deficit with 8:02 remaining in the game. Brady Ohlsen posted his third double-double of the season with 15 points and 11 rebounds. During Saturday’s 46-44 loss to DePauw, Ohlsen finished with a game-high 19. His basket with five seconds remaining tied the game. After Rose gave CC a 41-38 lead, the Tigers missed seven consecutive shots, including three lay-ups, to open the door for DePauw. Colorado College shot a season-low .100 from behind the three-point line, making just two of 20 attempts. The Tigers travel to Texas this weekend for a conference game at Austin College on Saturday and its final non-conference game of the season on Sunday at the University of Dallas.

DePauw is 15-5 overall and 8-3 in the conference following a weekend road split. The Tigers dropped a 70-66 decision at Austin College and defeated Colorado College by a 46-44 score on the next evening. In the Austin game, the Tigers and 'Roos were tied at 63-63 with 1:32 left, but Austin scored five straight to take the win. Four Tigers scored in double figures led by Tom Callen with 15. Tom Callen and Ryan Sever each grabbed eight rebounds as the Tigers held a commanding 42-24 edge on the boards. The Tigers, however, committed 27 turnovers with the Kangaroos holding a 26-6 advantage in points off turnovers. In the win at Colorado College, Tony James hit a shot as time expired to give DePauw the win. Sean Haseley paced the Tigers with 11 points, while David Gray matched a career-high with 15 rebounds as DePauw held a 38-29 advantage on the boards.

Hendrix picked up a pair of SCAC wins over the week with a thrilling 60-58 win over Oglethorpe Friday night and a 83-59 win against Sewanee on Sunday afternoon. The Warriors improved to 6-11 overall and 3-8 in SCAC play and are now just two games back from Trinity and Millsaps for fourth place in the West Division. The Warriors will look to gain ground on Trinity when they travel to San Antonio, Texas on Feb. 5. Sophomore forward Nick Heathscott highlighted his double-double performance on Friday night with a game winning 3-point play with 21 seconds on the clock, lifting the Warriors past the Stormy Petrels for the first time in the regular season since Feb. 11, 2000. Hendrix trailed Oglethorpe by four with 1:32 to go until Heathscott went on a five-point tear to give the Warriors the final lead change. Heathscott 19 points (9-of-17) and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds. Sophomore guard Chris Goodman added a career-high 15 points. Sewanee did not get inside 17 points of Hendrix’s lead in the second half. Heathscott was 8-of-10 from the field and 6-of-9 from the free throw line with four assists, two blocks and two steals.

Millsaps swept a weekend series at home against cross-divisional opponents Sewanee and Oglethorpe to improve to 9-11 overall and 5-6 in the conference. The Majors built a double-digit halftime lead Friday night at The Hangar Dome and hung on down the stretch to come away with the important conference victory over Sewanee, 55-50. Sunday afternoon, seniors Cameron Varnado and Blake Martinez led the Majors to a victory over Oglethorpe, 66-62, to complete the weekend sweep. Varnado finished with 20 points, shooting 7-for-13 from the floor and 6-for-6 from the free throw line while Martinez added 17 points, including four 3-point baskets. Millsaps remains tied with Trinity University for the final playoff spot in the West Division and hits the road for a pair of SCAC games next weekend as they face Southwestern and Trinity Feb. 5 and 7.

Oglethorpe lost two more close road contests this past weekend to Hendrix on Friday (60-58) and Millsaps on Sunday (66-62). The weekend road loss in heartbreaking fashion has become an unsettling trend for the Petrels and the Hendrix game was no exception as Oglethorpe missed three free throws in the final 10 seconds to agonize the defeat. Todd Ward led Oglethorpe with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Strong posted 10 points and nine boards in the loss. Allison added 11 points on the night. Millsaps opened up a nine point cushion in the second half but Oglethorpe twice came back to tie the game. The Petrels claimed their first and only lead of the second half when Wade Weldon drilled a three-pointer with 3:05 showing to make the score 58-57. Weldon led all Petrels with a 22 point performance that included making 5 of 9 from downtown. Ward scored 10 points and had seven rebounds. The Petrels are back in action this Friday night when they face Birmingham-Southern at 9:00 p.m. Eastern.

Rhodes dropped a pair of SCAC road contests this weekend. The Lynx couldn’t overcome a poor shooting weekend as they fell to Southwestern 63-36 and Trinity 65-49. Against the Pirates, the Lynx shot just 18% from the field in the second half and couldn’t overcome a two point halftime deficit. The defense was stingy, holding Southwestern to just 38% shooting. Nathan Ollie led the Lynx in scoring with 15, followed by Kory Kilpatrick’s 11 and Reid Hamilton’s nine. Kilpatrick grabbed a game high 11 rebounds and Hamilton grabbed 10. The next night the shooting woes continued as the Lynx shot just 38% against Trinity. While the defense was solid again, the Lynx could not overcome 18 turnovers and cold shooting. Hamilton continued to be a major inside force for the Lynx, as he led the team with 17 points. Kilpatrick grabbed a game high 11 rebounds.

Sewanee dropped a pair of road games this weekend at Millsaps and Hendrix. Sewanee rallied in the second half, outscoring Millsaps in the period, but its rally was stopped short and Millsaps got a 55-50 win. Hendrix topped the Tigers 83-59 on Sunday. Freshman Lewis Affronti led Sewanee's scoring on the weekend with performances of 16 and 22. Point guard Tony Marelle had 14 assists on the weekend and only turned the ball over three times. The Tigers are 4-15 and 1-10 in the league and will play at Rhodes next weekend.

Southwestern split games in the first weekend of their two weekend homestand. On Friday the Pirates held Rhodes to just 22.8% from the floor for the game and 22 points in the second half. Southwestern took the 63-46 win despite shooting 18.5% from beyond the arc. Fortunes reversed on Saturday as SU faced off against Birmingham-Southern. The Pirates had a 10 point lead going into the break after senior A.C. Cox hit a three as time expired. Southwestern fouled down the stretch and was able to pull within three with 1:49 left but BSC closed out the game going 5-6 from the line to take the 59-67 win. The Pirates currently sit in second place in the West with a 14-6 overall record and 7-4 in the conference. They remain at home this coming weekend to face Millsaps and Hendrix.

Trinity swept a conference weekend for the first time all season, defeating both Birmingham-Southern and Rhodes in San Antonio. The Tigers jumped out to a big lead on Birmingham-Southern, but the visitors rallied to force overtime. In OT, the Panthers took a brief lead into the final minute, but Trinity’s Ryan Beall hit a three-pointer to reclaim the lead. Tiger senior Terrance Blakely then recorded three steals in the final 30 seconds to seal the win – including a pair of steals on back-to-back possessions to end the game. After a slow start on Sunday against Rhodes, the Tigers scored 18 unanswered points late in the first half, and never looked back. Trinity will host Hendrix and Millsaps this weekend, finishing off the regular season series with both teams. The Tigers beat Hendrix 61-54 in Conway, Ark. early in January, but lost 47-39 at Millsaps the next night. Trinity and Millsaps are currently tied for fourth in the SCAC West Division standings, fighting for a spot in the SCAC Tournament at the end of this month.

For the complete SCAC Men's Hoops Weekly for Week 10, click here.