LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Trinity overcame a tough travel weekend to jump into first place with wins over Dallas and Colorado College. The other big winner was Texas Lutheran, who after a tough start, picked their first two SCAC wins this weekend over Centenary and Austin College. Speaking of Centenary and Austin College, they both picked up huge home wins over previously unbeaten Schreiner.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College split its two games over the weekend, handing Schreiner its first conference loss on Friday 79-66 before falling 93-71 to Texas Lutheran. Ransom Okpala became just the 18th player in over 100 years of Austin College men's basketball to surpass 1,000 points when he scored 21 in the loss to TLU on Sunday. For the week, Okpala averaged 20 points and 6.5 rebounds while shooting 62.5% from the field and 58.3% from three point range. Austin Freet added a double-double against Schreiner, scoring 12 points and grabbing 11 rebounds, and added 10 more boards in the loss to TLU. Brian Baehl scored 14 against Schreiner, and Jeremy Swisher tallied 10 against TLU.
Centenary split a pair of SCAC contests this weekend with a 70-67 win over Schreiner and a 90-83, overtime loss to Texas Lutheran. Jonathan Blount led the Gents with 46 total points (23 ppg) including a three-pointer with 14 seconds left to secure the victory over SU. Kendall Demouchet, Brooks Pawsat, Caden Cheramie and Donovan Williams each provided a game in double figures during the weekend. Centenary sits fourth in the conference following the weekend and leads the SCAC in points per game with 74.9. Centenary returns to action this weekend as the Gents travel to TLU and Schreiner for rematches of this weekend's contest.
Colorado College was in and out of first place after splitting a pair of SCAC contests at home last week. Senior guard Ryan Milne scored 17 points and dished out three assists as the Tigers cruised to a 74-57 victory over Southwestern on Friday night. Junior forward Chris Lesnansky added 14 points and five rebounds, and sophomore forward James Lonergan tied his career high with nine rebounds to help CC record a 44-27 advantage on the glass. It didn't take long for the Tigers to take control of the contest. After the Pirates jumped out to an early 7-2 lead, Colorado College ran off 15 consecutive points, including six by Lesnansky, to open its first double-digit lead. The following night, CC never got its offense in gear and dropped a 63-48 decision to Trinity at Reid Arena. TU led 48-35 with just under nine minutes remaining, but Colorado College stormed back on the strength of an 11-2 run to cut its deficit to four when sophomore forward Tyler Jonas dialed long distance with 5:33 remaining. That, however, was as close as the Tigers would get. Milne paced Colorado College with 14 points and became the 14th player in program history to record 1,400 or more for his career. He also dished out five assists. Lesnansky grabbed a game-high 11 rebounds and climbed three spots on the program's all-time list to No. 20, with 446. Sophomore forward Tyler Jonas came off the bench to score a career-high 15 points and help CC post a 75-65 victory over Johnson & Wales University on Tuesday night in the final non-conference game of the season. Colorado College won't need to wait long for a chance to avenge the Saturday's setback. The Tigers visit TU next Saturday after beginning a two-game trek to Texas on Friday night with a rematch at Southwestern.
The Dallas men's basketball team (9-8, 3-4 SCAC) went 1-1 on the week in a pair of conference home games. On Friday, in Irving, Texas, the coaching staff participated in Coaches vs. Cancer "Suits And Sneakers" Awareness Weekend in their game against Trinity. They wore sneakers with their suits to benefit the American Cancer Society. Despite leading with six minutes remaining, the Crusaders proceeded to fall 64-59 to the Tigers. On Sunday, at the Maher Athletic Center, head coach Jarred Samples' squad won 70-64 over Southwestern. Dallas faces these same teams this week, but on the road -- Trinity (Friday, 6 p.m.) and Southwestern (Sunday, 4 p.m.).
Schreiner went 0-2 with two road losses against Austin College (79-66) and Centenary (70-67) this past weekend. Eighteen games into the regular season, Schreiner is being led by Senior AJ Myres, who is third in the SCAC in scoring with a 19.8 ppg average and Junior Stevan Guerrero, who leads the 'Neers with 6.1 rebounds per game average, along with a 14.9 ppg. Myres is also nine points away from 1,000 career points. SU will play host this week to Austin College (Friday, January 31st)and Centenary (Saturday, February 1st).
Southwestern went 0-2 this week as they closed out the first round of conference play this week. Southwestern struggled from the floor in Colorado and fell 74-57 before their offense returned against the University of Dallas. Dallas was hotter, however, as they shot above 50% from the floor to give SU their second loss of the weekend, 70-64. With the losses Southwestern falls to 5-12 on the year and 2-5 in the SCAC. They return to action at home, seeking revenge for the past weekend by hosting Colorado College on Friday and the University of Dallas on Saturday.
Texas Lutheran opened up the weekend by grabbing their first conference win of the season in a 90-83 overtime victory over Centenary. It was a wild ride to their first SCAC win for the Bulldogs, needing a pair of free throws from Troy Griffith with just six seconds left to send the game to overtime. After Centenary missed a jumper at the buzzer, the Bulldogs took care of business in overtime, making 6-of-11 from the field and 7-of-10 from the free throw line to seal the win. Robert Watson Jr. scored 23 points, including 10 in the overtime period, while Jordan Kouremetis led the team with 26 points. The Bulldogs finished with 52.8 percent shooting and 60 percent three-point shooting. On Sunday, Texas Lutheran continued its hot shooting, blowing out Austin College 93-71 on the road. The Bulldogs outscored the 'Roos 51-34 and shot better than 62 percent in the second half to secure their second straight conference win. Once again, it was Kouremetis and Watson Jr. who led the team, tallying 50 points between the two of them. Kouremetis scored 27 while Watson Jr. added 23 points of his own.
Trinity claimed the top spot in the SCAC standings with a pair of road wins over the weekend, defeating both the University of Dallas and Colorado College on Friday and Saturday. The Tigers improved their winning streak to four games with the victories, edging Dallas 64-59 and handling Colorado 63-48 the next day. Robert Kitzinger scored just over 50 points during the weekend, moving up to 12th in Trinity history in career points scored. He also scored his 200th career three-point basket, becoming just the second Tiger player ever to reach that milestone. William Young moved to eighth in career assists (262) over the weekend as well. Trinity will square off with two familiar faces this weekend, as Dallas and Colorado College will now come to San Antonio to finish off the regular season series between the schools. Dallas will be in town on Friday for a 6:00 p.m. tip, while Colorado takes on Trinity at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. The weekend will be the regular season home finales for the Tigers, though the team will host the SCAC Tournament at the end of February.
To view the entire SCAC Hoops Daily for week nine, click here.
