LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. - Trinity University (8-1 SCAC, 13-7 overall) extended its win streak to six games and, more importantly, its conference lead to two games with a pair of home victories against the University of Dallas and Colorado College. Centenary College was the only other SCAC men's team to earn a weekend sweep, defeating Texas Lutheran and Schreiner on the road, to move to 5-3 in the conference; 10-8 overall.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College split its two games over the weekend, falling 96-79 at Schreiner before bouncing back with a 78-71 win over Texas Lutheran to bring their overall record to 6-11 and conference mark to 2-6 on the year. Ransom Okpala led the 'Roos with 14 points in the loss to Schreiner and had 17 and nine rebounds against Texas Lutheran, and Jeremy Swisher scored a team-high 20 against TLU as the 'Roos avenged last weekend's loss to the Bulldogs. Swisher hit 4-of-6 second half three pointers to help the 'Roos earn the victory. Austin Freet added 17 points and eight boards in the win and Brian Baehl had 10 points and handed out a career-best seven assists.
Centenary claimed two SCAC wins over the weekend to run its win streak to three games. The win for the Maroon and White marks the first time since the 2003-04 season that the program has recorded 10 wins on Feb. 1. The 2003-04 squad finished the season 16-12 overall. Jonathan Blount averaged 20 points this weekend and moved into the top 15 all-time in scoring in school history with 1,280 points. Caden Cheramie joined his senior in averaging double-digits with 10.5 points. Centenary averaged a setback to Texas Lutheran with a 76-71 victory to open the weekend and then completed a regular season sweep of Schreiner, 77-59, on Saturday to secure the weekend. The Gents take their win streak into Tuesday night action when they host Austin College at 6 p.m.
Chris Lesnansky poured in a game-high 26 points to help Colorado College record a 71-64 victory at Southwestern University on Friday night. Lesnansky connected on seven of 11 shots from the floor and all 12 free-throw attempts to eclipse the 20-point mark for the sixth time this season. The junior forward also pulled down eight rebounds. Sophomore guard Justin Berardino made four of seven attempts from behind the arc and finished with 19 points. Senior guard Ryan Milne added 12 points and three assists. Sophomore forward James Lonergan grabbed a career-high 12 rebounds as the Tigers registered a 43-27 advantage on the glass. Trinity drained a go-ahead three-pointer with a fraction under 10 seconds remaining to escape with a 52-48 victory over Colorado College on Saturday afternoon. With his team down 50-48 with less than six seconds to go, Milne nearly put CC back in front, but his long-range jumper from the right wing rattled around the inside of the basket before popping out. Colorado College trailed by nine points 2:22 into the second half, but battled back to take its first lead at 40-38 when Chris Lesnansky converted on two charity tosses with 5:54 to play. Milne scored all 14 of his points in the second half to fuel the comeback attempt. Berardino recorded eight of his 10 points during the first half to keep CC in the contest. He also finished with a game-high nine rebounds. Clark made four of five shots from the floor and tied his career high with 10 points. Colorado College plays host to Schreiner and Texas Lutheran on Friday and Sunday, respectively.
Dallas went 0-2 on the week in a pair of conference road games. On Friday, in San Antonio, the Crusaders were defeated 75-59 by Trinity. On Saturday, in Georgetown, Texas, head coach Jarred Samples' squad fell 83-73 to Southwestern. Dallas hosts two conference opponents this week -- Texas Lutheran (Friday, 6 p.m.) and Schreiner (Sunday, 12 p.m.).
Schreiner went 1-1 with a home victory over Austin College (96-79) and loss Centenary (59-77) this past weekend. Twenty games into the regular season, Schreiner is being led by Senior AJ Myres, who is second in the SCAC in scoring with a 19.7 ppg average and Junior Stevan Guerrero, who leads the 'Neers with 6.1 rebounds per game average, along with a 14.9 ppg. Myres went over the 1,000 career point mark vs. Austin College. SU will travel this week to Colorado College (Friday, February 7th)and Dallas (Sunday, February 9st).
Southwestern went 1-1 in conference play this week to move to 6-13 on the year and 3-6 in the SCAC. The Pirates struggled offensively against Colorado College but were in the game before falling 71-64 to the Tigers Friday night. The game against the University of Dallas become more of a free throw competition as the two teams combined for 89 free throws. Southwestern's defense was sharp and allowed the Pirates to hold onto a double-digit lead, winning 83-73. Southwestern heads to Austin College and Centenary this week to continue the second round of SCAC action.
Texas Lutheran dropped a pair of home games over the weekend, falling to both Centenary and Austin College inside Memorial Gymnasium. On Friday, the Bulldogs battled back from a nine-point deficit and cut the Centenary lead to just one with four minutes to go, but that's the closest they would get in a 76-71 loss. After a Robert Watson Jr. free throw cut the deficit to one, Centenary would six straight points from Jonathan Blount to keep the Bulldogs at bay. On Sunday, Austin College hit eight second-half threes and 11 3-pointers total to help down the Bulldogs 78-71. The Bulldogs made just 4-of-11 from long range. Jordan Kouremetis led the Bulldogs with 17 points, while Thomas Verm finished one rebound shy of a double-double, scoring 12 points to go along with nine rebounds.
Trinity finished off its regular season home schedule with a pair of SCAC wins over the weekend, downing both the University of Dallas and Colorado College. The Tigers opened with a 75-59 win over Dallas on Friday night, featuring a third consecutive 20-point game from Robert Kitzinger. Saturday was a showdown between Tiger teams, as Colorado College trailed SCAC-leading Trinity by just a game heading into the weekend. The two teams were neck and neck over the final minutes, and either team could have taken the win. Down by one with 10 seconds left, Trinity's Zach Lambert hit a go-ahead three-pointer to lift the TU Tigers to victory. The win gives Trinity a two-game cushion for the top seed in the SCAC Tournament. Kitzinger is just six three-pointers away from becoming the first player in Trinity history to hit 50 or more long-range buckets in each of his four seasons. Rich Skeen (1990-94) is the only other Tiger player to have 50 or more three-point baskets in three seasons. Trinity will be on the road for the rest of the regular season, starting this weekend with games at Centenary College and Austin College. The Tigers downed Centenary 82-61 in San Antonio earlier this year, and Trinity also edged Austin 72-67 at home.
To view the entire SCAC Hoops Daily for week ten, click here.
