Men's Basketball Recap (Week 9) - Around the SCAC

Men's Basketball Recap (Week 9) - Around the SCAC

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Austin College snapped a six game losing streak with its 72-61 win over visiting Colorado College on Sunday. The Kangaroos were led by Jordan Hancock's team-high 17 points on 8 of 14 shooting.

AROUND THE SCAC

Austin College split its two games over the weekend, falling 60-57 to the University of Dallas before upsetting Colorado College 72-61 for the team’s first SCAC victory of the year. The ‘Roos are now 4-15 overall and 1-8 in conference play. Against the Crusaders, the ‘Roos trailed by one with three minutes left but were unable to take the lead despite 17 points from Antoine Thompson and 10 from Andre Bryant. Against the Tigers, the ‘Roos shot 55.3% from the field as a team and Alen Michael scored all seven of his points in the final 56 seconds to hold off any attempt at a comeback by Colorado College. Jordan Hancock scored 17 points and Bryant added 15 on 6-of-6 shooting, including 3-of-3 from long range. This week the ‘Roos host Centenary on Saturday in the team’s final home game of the regular season.

Centenary dropped a pair of contests to Colorado College and the University of Dallas during the week. Jonathan Blount and Caden Cheramie each averaged double figures during the span. Blount led the squad with 18 points and 5.5 rebounds while Cheramie added 10.5 points. Centenary returns to action on Saturday, Jan. 26 as the Gents open a five-game, road swing at Austin College.

Colorado College
completed a run of six consecutive conference road games by splitting a pair of decisions last weekend. Junior point guard Ryan Milne poured in a career-high 36 points to help the Tigers record a 76-61 victory at Centenary on Friday. Milne also set a career best with seven three-point buckets. CC appeared to be cruising toward its fourth victory in five road games when Milne gave his team a 53-31 with 13:04 remaining, but the Gents used a 19-4 run to close to within 57-50 with 4:41 to play. Fortunately for the Tigers, Milne answered with back-to-back treys and CC was able to extend its lead by sinking 10 of 12 free-throw attempts during the final 2:33. Freshman forward Tyler Jonas reached double figures for the first time with 10 points. Milne reached the 30-point mark for the third time in his career and became the 23rd player in program history to record 900 or more career points. His 36 points were the most by a Tiger since Nick Rose scored 37 during an 84-80 victory over Hendrix College on Feb. 18, 2011. Cold shooting and foul trouble proved too much to overcome as Colorado College dropped a 72-61 at Austin on Sunday. Milne paced the Tigers with a game-high 22 points and five assists, while sophomore forward Chris Lesnansky added 14 points before fouling out with 6:11 to play. With three rebounds, he moved up to 39th place on the program's career list with 268. CC plays its next five SCAC tilts at home, beginning this weekend when Southwestern and Trinity visit Reid Arena on Friday and Saturday, respectively.

Dallas (11-6, 6-2 SCAC) went 2-0 on the week in a pair of conference road games. The Crusaders prevailed 60-57 over Austin College on Friday evening in Sherman, Texas. Senior forward Tanner Bruffey tallied 10 points in the second-half to finish with a team-high 14 for the game. Dallas shot 48.1 percent in both halves to achieve a 70-56 win over Centenary College of Louisiana on Saturday evening in Shreveport, La. Head coach Jarred Samples' squad netted 26-of-54 from the field on the game, and claimed a game-high 17-point advantage with 1:27 remaining en route to a 14-point victory. Senior guard Drew Assinesi and sophomore forward Mark Promberger tied for a game-high 14 points, while each added five rebounds. Bruffey managed a double-double (11 points, 13 rebounds). On tap this week for Dallas are two SCAC home contests -- Trinity (Friday, 8 p.m.); Southwestern (Sunday, 2 p.m.). 

Rebounding cost Southwestern as the Pirates fell to Trinity on Saturday afternoon 66-49. Southwestern pulled down 15 fewer boards in the loss to fall to 6-11 on the year and 2-5 in the SCAC. SU led in the first six minutes of the game, but the Tigers led by 20 at halftime with a strong push to the break. Southwestern was able to pull within double digits in the second half, but TU was just too strong as they pulled away. The Pirates head to face top-seeded Colorado College on Friday night and a rematch with the University of Dallas on Sunday.
  
Trinity split two games over the past week, falling on the road against UT-Dallas on Monday, but bouncing back with a solid 66-49 home win over Southwestern on Saturday night. After starting the season with just two wins in the first five games, the Tigers have now won 10 of the past 12 contests, and are leading the SCAC standings with a 6-1 conference mark. Two of the team’s last three losses have been decided by just three points. It will be a showdown of the top teams in the conference this weekend, as Trinity travels to the University of Dallas and Colorado College. The Tigers defeated Dallas 76-46 earlier this month in San Antonio, while Colorado College handed Trinity a 68-66 defeat on January 6. Both Dallas and Colorado College trail Trinity with identical 6-2 conference records.

To view the entire SCAC Hoops Weekly for Week 9, click here.

Happy Holidays from the SCAC!
December 25, 2012 Happy Holidays from the SCAC!