SUWANEE, Ga. - During the holiday break Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference teams posted a 10-13 record in non-conference action before Rhodes outlasted Millsaps 62-46 in the only conference game during the holiday break. Rhodes remains unbeaten in league play at 3-0.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College was edged twice last week,
bringing their record to 6-6 overall this season following a 73-65
loss to Luther College and a 67-62 loss to UT-Dallas. Against
Luther, the ‘Roos shot 50% from the field for the game but
the Norse used an 18-7 edge in second chance points thanks to 14
offensive rebounds to hold off the ‘Roos. Josh Saunders had
18 points, seven steals and three blocked shots and Alen Michael
added 13 points, eight boards and four blocked shots in the loss.
Against UT-Dallas, the ‘Roos shot 56% in the second half to
fight back from a big first half deficit and got to within three
with four seconds left but would not be able to completely close
the gap in the five point loss. Ransom Okpala hit 4-of-7 threes on
his way to 17 points and Saunders and Walter Phillips each scored
11.
No. 22 Birmingham-Southern (10-1, 2-1 SCAC) won
both of their games this week at the Big Easy Challenge in New
Orleans, defeating Southern Maine, 85-73, and Clark University,
58-57. Junior Kevin Kegarise led with a game-high 24 points against
Southern Maine, shooting 9-of-11 from the field and an impressive
6-of-8 from three-point range. Senior Jasen Jonus also added 15
points. Against Clark, junior Zac Richards led all players with 17
points on 8-of-12 shooting. Senior Caleb Lee and Kegarise also
scored 11 points each. Clark held the Panthers to a season-low in
points, but BSC made up for it by shooting nearly 48 percent from
the field. The Panthers are back at home this weekend to resume
conference play, facing Millsaps Friday night and Rhodes Sunday
afternoon.
Centre went 2-0 this week, winning the Papa
John’s/Country Hearth Inn Tournament, hosted by Centre
College. On Thursday, the Colonels defeated the Berry Vikings 69-54
behind a balanced scoring effort. Jeff Mullaney led Centre with 15
points, while Greg Ross scored 14 and Collin Lopez added 12.
Friday’s championship game against #10 ranked Cabrini College
was a phenomenal contest as Centre won 69-67 in overtime, handing
the Cavaliers their first loss of the season. Collin Lopez scored
18 points on six three-pointers. Josh Karsner grabbed a career high
14 rebounds. Jeff Mullaney scored 12 points and joined
Centre’s prestigious 1,000 point club. Greg Ross led all
scorers with 20 points and clutch free throws at the end of
regulation to tie the game and at the end of overtime to win it.
Centre will host Berea on Wednesday, then travel to Sewanee for a
conference game on Saturday.
Despite playing eight of its first 10 games on the road,
Colorado College squared its season record at 5-5
with a pair of victories at the 2011 Big Easy Challenge at the
Alario Center in Westwego, La. Junior forward Ian Rewoldt scored 13
of his 16 points in the second half as the Tigers came from behind
to defeat Husson University, 64-60, in their tournament opener on
Thursday night. Sophomore guard Ryan Milne made three of four free
throws during the final 13 seconds to seal the victory. Milne
finished with a game-high 20 points, including 13 in the first half
to keep the Tigers within striking distance. The following night,
CC used an 11-3 run during the final 3:08 to defeat UMass Boston,
64-56, in the final game of the tournament. Colorado College
resumes conference play this weekend when it travels to Austin
College and Dallas on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
Hendrix went 1-3 over the holiday break. On Dec. 20-21, the Warriors competed in the Don Lane Classic in Lexington, Ky. Hendrix fell to host Transylvania 61-44 on the first day of the tournament. Sophomore forward Colton Primm and senior guard Ammon Martin each scored 14 points against the Pioneers. Hendrix lost to Baldwin-Wallace 79-63. Primm scored 13 points to go with 14 rebounds and three steals to earn all-tournament team honors. The Warriors ended 2011 with a pair of games in Texas. On Friday, the Warriors lost to East Texas Baptist 71-53. Primm put up his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 boards. The year ended on a high note as Hendrix held off LeTourneau 71-70 on Saturday. Hendrix will resume conference play at Dallas on Friday and Austin on Sunday.
Millsaps went 1-2 this past week with a win over Rust and losses to Mississippi College and Rhodes. The team traveled to Belhaven University to compete in the opening game of the Magnolia Classic against the Mississippi College Choctaws. The Majors shot 48% in the second half, but it would not be enough as the Choctaws shot a scorching 64% from the field in the second half to pull away from the Majors late and pick up the victory, 69-60. The following day, Junior Taylor Meades shot 60% from the field and 67% from behind the arc to lead the Millsaps Majors Men's Basketball Team with 17 points in a 68-59 win over Rust College in the Consolation Game of the Magnolia Classic at Belhaven University. On Monday, the Majors hung with the No. 1 team in the Eastern Division, but a 17-4 run by the Rhodes Lynx in the final five minutes proved to be too much for Millsaps as they fell in their first game in 2012, 62-46. The loss drops the Majors to 6-5 overall and 1-2 in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. The Majors are back in action this Friday as they travel to Birmingham to take on Birmingham-Southern. Tipoff is set for 8 p.m.
Oglethorpe (4-7, 0-3 SCAC) did not play during the holiday break. The Stormy Petrels return to action on January 3 when they host Berry for a 7 p.m. tip-off. The game with the Vikings marks Oglethorpe’s final non-conference game of the season. The Petrels will resume SCAC play this weekend hosing Rhodes on Friday and Millsaps on Sunday.
Rhodes (8-4, 3-0 SCAC) split two games over the holiday break. Against No. 5 Emory, the Lynx played the Eagles tightly in the first half as Emory took just a six point lead (39-33) at halftime. The second half was a different story as the Eagles took command by shooting 66.7 (10-15) percent from 3-point range in the second half on their way to an 84-66 win. Rhodes regrouped however, as the Lynx maintained sole possession of first-place in the Eastern Division with a 62-46 win over visiting Millsaps on January 2. Rhodes returns to action on January 6th and 8th traveling to Oglethorpe and 22nd-ranked Birmingham-Southern, respectively.
Sewanee did not play during the holiday break. The Tigers (5-4, 1-3 SCAC) return to action on January 4 when they host Covenant at 8 p.m. Sewanee will then resume conference play on January 7 when Centre visits the Mountain for a 4 p.m. tip-off.
Southwestern was busy just before the holiday break playing three games in San Antonio before Christmas. Southwestern opened with Puget Sound who was undefeated and shot 50% from the field and 61.5% from three point range but were out-rebounded 39-17 and fell 91-77. A near -20 in rebounding margin was too much for the Pirates to overcome in their Wednesday night game against Pacific College out of Oregon as they fell 76-55. Nick Atiee led with 16 points off the bench. SU closed out the Invitational with Whitworth and couldn't get their perimeter game going as they shot just 17.6% from long range while Whitworth hit a hot streak shooting 45.2% from beyond the arc. The losses dropped SU to 1-12 on the year. After a much needed long break the Pirates return to action with an SCAC conference match-up with Birmingham-Southern on the 13th and Oglethorpe on the 14th at home.
Trinity went 2-1 over the holiday break, defeating both Willamette and Pacific (OR) at the Trinity National Invitational. The only Tiger loss was a two-point overtime defeat to George Fox. Trinity has now won four of its past five games, and now has only SCAC contests remaining on the schedule for the 2011-12 season. The Tigers play five of their next seven games at home, where the team holds a 4-1 record so far this year. Trinity will be off this week, but will return to action on January 13 and 14 against Oglethorpe and Birmingham-Southern in San Antonio. The Tigers lost 78-67 at Oglethorpe last season, and also lost 82-73 at Birmingham.
For the complete SCAC Men's Hoops Weekly for Week 6, click here.
