SUWANEE, Ga. - The final week of cross-divisional play saw the East win 10 of 12 games to finish the regular season with a 25-11 record against the West. Colorado College became the firs team from the West to earn a conference tournament bid while DePauw and Oglethorpe joined the field out of the East this week.

AROUND THE SCAC

Austin College dropped both of its games over the weekend to Centre and DePauw, falling to 9-10 overall and 5-6 in SCAC play. The 'Roos fell by a final score of 87-52 to Centre on Friday and were within striking distance against DePauw, trailing by six with a minute left before the Tigers scored the game's final eight points to give Austin College a 77-63 loss. Walter Phillips hit 5-of-8 shots from the field to score a team best 16 points and Josh Saunders added 11 points in the loss. Against DePauw, Phillips again led the way with 19 points, this time on 7-of-14 shooting. Phillips added seven rebounds and two assists. Jordan Hancock chipped in with 15 points and Scott Straley added 11 points, eight rebounds and three assists. The 'Roos step out of conference on Wednesday to take on the University of Dallas before heading to Colorado College on Saturday.
 
Birmingham-Southern extended its winning streak to 11 games this week with two more wins, defeating both Southwestern and Trinity at home, Friday and Saturday evenings. BSC beat Southwestern 94-58, and defeated the Tigers 82-73. Trinity gave BSC a scare, opening the game by going up 20-4, but the Panthers rallied in the second half for the nine-point win. BSC has now won 27 straight home games; their last home loss was on Feb. 8, 2009, against Centre. The Panthers are on the road this week, traveling to face Sewanee and Oglethorpe this weekend.
   
For the third straight weekend, No. 17 Centre won a pair of SCAC home games, this time defeating Austin College 87-52 Friday night and then winning 66-54 over Colorado College Sunday afternoon. The Colonels have now won six straight games and eight of their last nine to improve to 15-3 overall and 10-1 in the SCAC. Centre, ranked #17 in the D3hoops.com poll has now won 10 games or more in the SCAC five straight years. The Colonels limited both teams to less than 60 points marking the 11th and 12th time this season an opponent was held under 60 points. Centre has allowed only one team to score 70 or more points this season, Maryville in the first game of the year. The Colonels will host DePauw Saturday in a rematch of a game earlier this season.

Colorado College dropped back-to-back conference games for the first time this season with losses at DePauw and Centre. Still, the Tigers clinched a spot in the SCAC Tournament for the first time. On Friday at DePauw, CC trimmed a 13-point deficit to two points on a basket by Nick Foley with 6:07 to play, but could not get the go-ahead basket and dropped a 60-49 decision. Nick Rose led Colorado College with 15 points. On Sunday at Centre, the Tigers missed eight of their last nine shots and watched the Colonels pull away for a 66-54 victory. CC pulled to within a point at 51-50 when Rose drained a three-pointer with 5:28 to play, but the Colonels took advantage of Colorado College’s cold shooting and went on a 13-point run. Rose led all scorers with 26 points, the tenth time this season he scored 20 or more points in a game. Ryan Milne added 11 points and four assists. The Tigers play host to Austin College on Saturday at 6 p.m.

Hendrix went 1-1 on the road against the SCAC East with a victory over Sewanee on Friday night and then a loss to Oglethorpe on Sunday afternoon. The Warriors now stand at 6-13 overall and 2-9 in conference play, tied for fifth in the SCAC West and just one game back from fourth place Millsaps. Junior Ammon Martin led the Warriors with 16 points and also grabbed nine rebounds, while sophomore Jaren Riley added 15 points on 3-of-3 shooting from distance and 6-of-6 from the charity stripe. Senior Todd Ward exploded for 18 second-half points and a decisive 20-2 run late in the game to propel Oglethorpe past Hendrix, 89-77. Ward finished with 31 points and 13 rebounds.

Millsaps dropped the final two games of their cross-division schedule this weekend at Oglethorpe and Sewanee. Oglethorpe led from start to finish on Friday night, but the Majors did not quit. With 3:47 remaining in the game, the Majors went on a 12-2 run to cut the deficit to just four points, 66-62, with 53 seconds remaining. Unfortunately, the Petrels hit their foul shots as the final minute expired to hold on for the 72-64 win. The game with the Tigers was just as close. Brian Merkel hit a jumper with 10:04 remaining to pull the Majors to within two, 39-37, but they were never able to regain the lead. Every time the Majors made a move the Tigers answered to hold on for the narrow win, 55-51. The Majors will return to Jackson this weekend for their final two home SCAC games before the conference tournament. They will host Trinity University on Friday at 8:00 p.m. in the Hangar Dome.

Oglethorpe swept its final two contests against SCAC West foes, topping Millsaps (72-64) and Hendrix (89-77) to finish 5-1 against the West. Against Millsaps, the Petrels let a 23 point second half lead dwindle to only 4 before recovering to close out a win that saw Alex Richey net his 1,000th career point. The Majors responded with a methodical clock grinding 31-8 run that closed the score to 66-62 with 53 second remaining. After a failed three-ball from the Majors, Todd Ward finished the scoring by knocking down two more free throws. Sophomore Andrew Steioff was perfect from the field, making all 10 of his shot attempts en route to 20 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists and three blocks. Against Hendrix, Ward netted 31 points on 11 of 19 shooting from the field. He also grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds and dished a team-leading three assists in the victory. The Petrels are now 12-8 (8-3) and will host Rhodes Friday at 8 p.m.
  
Rhodes notched their first conference victory this weekend, as they defeated Southwestern on Saturday 71 – 63. The Lynx had three players in double figures including sophomore Andrew Galow who scored 20 points on 7 of 12 shooting. On Friday, the Lynx fell to Trinity in an outcome that was a result of 23 Lynx turnovers.  Nonetheless, Trinity beat Rhodes 62-51. For the weekend, Galow led the Lynx averaging 15 points, 5.5 rebounds, 4.5 assists, and 3.5 steals. Freshman Johnny Dunavant also chipped in 13.5 points on 7 of 17 shooting from downtown. Next weekend the Lynx are on the road against Oglethorpe and Sewanee on Friday and Sunday.  
 
Sewanee split their weekend SCAC contests, dropping a 78-66 decision to Hendrix Friday evening before topping Millsaps 55-51 on Sunday. On Friday, the Warriors set the tone early, going 8 of 8 from the 3-point line in the first half, on their way to the win. The Tigers just couldn’t keep up with the Warriors hot touch, struggling at the 3-point and free throw line all evening. Tyler Brown led the Sewanee effort, tallying 14 points for the Tigers in the loss. On Sunday, Sewanee managed to overcome a slow start and a furious Millsaps’ comeback effort to take home a four-point win over the Majors. The Tigers managed to hit their free throws in the end and put the Majors away. Valentino Bryant led all scorers with 21 points in the win. The Tigers will head to Covenant College for a non-conference contest on Tuesday against the Scots before hosting Birmingham-Southern and Rhodes over the weekend.  
 
Southwestern has hit a rough patch and is currently in a seven game losing streak to fall to 4-16 overall and 2-9 in the SCAC. Free throw shooting doomed in the Pirates on Friday night at Birmingham-Southern as SU shot just 30% from the charity stripe to fall 94-58. On Saturday Southwestern's run came up just short as Rhodes earned their first conference win of the season, 71-66, over SU. Despite the losses the Pirates still have a shot at the conference tournament as they head to Millsaps and Hendrix this week, two teams that are just ahead of SU in the rankings.
  
After going 1-1 at Rhodes and Birmingham Southern last weekend, Trinity is alone in second place in the SCAC West Division. The Tigers have split each of the last three road trips in SCAC play. Trinity defeated Rhodes 62-51 on Friday night, but lost 82-73 to East Division co-leaders Birmingham-Southern on Saturday. Robert Kitzinger and Luke Caldarera both averaged in double figures for the weekend, and Caldarera led the Tigers in rebounds and assists. Trinity will face Millsaps and Hendrix in the final road games of the season on Friday and Saturday nights. Earlier this season, the Tigers swept both teams in San Antonio, winning by double figures in both games. Trinity is now 13-7 against Millsaps since the 2001-02 season, and the Tigers have also won five straight against Hendrix.

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