LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The 13th annual
Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball tournament
tips off Friday in Irving, and, with three-time defending champion
Trinity University not among the six-team field, the league is
guaranteed to have its 11th different NCAA tournament
representative come Sunday afternoon. Official
Tournament Website | Men's
Interactive Bracket
None of the six teams in this year's field has ever appeared in
the NCAA Division III Men's Basketball Tournament but that will
change for one team when the final buzzer sounds in Sunday's title
game.
Texas Lutheran University will enter the 2015 SCAC tournament as
the top seed after finishing the regular season with a record of
16-9 overall and 11-3 in conference play. The Bulldogs welcomed new
head coach Jimmy Smith this season, who has helped the program to
it's first winning record since 2003-04. The Bulldogs finished the
2013-14 season in eighth place, falling in the first round of the
SCAC tournament to eventual champion Trinity after posting an
overall record of 9-17 and 3-11 in the SCAC. This season, the
Bulldogs are averaging 73.8 points per game, second-most in the
conference, and a league-best 38.1 rebounds per game. TLU also has
the conference’s third-best three-point shooting percentage
(.360) and the best free throw mark (.714). Leading the scoring
attack for the Bulldogs is sophomore Jordan Kouremetis who is
averaging 14.4 points per game and shooting .428 from long-range,
which is 19th among all Division III players. Sophomore Sterling
Holmes and senior Donte McGee round out the top scorers, averaging
12.3 and 10.6 points per game, respectively. McGee leads the
Bulldogs and the conference with 8.4 boards per game. Holmes is
grabbing 4.0 boards per game, while freshman Harris Jowell and
senior Thomas Verm are each averaging 3.2 per contest. The Bulldogs
earned a bye for the first round of the 2015 tournament and will
face off against the winner of the No. 4/5 battle between Dallas
and Colorado College at 5 p.m. on Saturday.
Centenary College will be the No. 2 seed after finishing the
season with a 16-9 record; 11-3 in conference play. The Gents, who
are pace to lead the league in scoring (74.8 points per game) for
the third consecutive year, earned a share of the SCAC regular
season title, matching Texas Lutheran for the best record in the
conference. The title marks the Gents' second regular season
conference championship in any sport as a member of the SCAC
(baseball in 2013), and the men's basketball program’s first
since the 1989-90 season as a member of the NCAA Division I
Trans-Atlantic Athletic Conference. Last year, the Gents earned the
No. 2 seed heading into the tournament, knocking off Southwestern
and Schreiner on their way to the championship game. Centenary fell
to Trinity 82-70 in the title game. Returning this season for the
Gents is 2014 SCAC Newcomer of the Year sophomore Kendall
Demouchet, senior Caden Cheramie and sophomore James Sapp, who
earned a spot on the 2014 SCAC All-Tournament team after setting a
single-game rebounding record (20) in the title contest against
Trinity. Centenary also relies on freshman guard Travion Kirkendoll
who ranks third on the team with 12.8 points per game, while
shooting .457 from the field. Sapp has been the go-to guy for the
Gents this season, leading the team in points (15.9 per game -
first in the SCAC) and rebounds (7.9 per game - second in the SCAC)
while ranking third in field goal percentage (.521). By virtue of
earning the second seed, the Gents have a bye and will take on the
winner of Friday's Dallas and Colorado College contest in
Saturday's second semifinal at 7 p.m.
Southwestern University enters this year's tournament in the No. 3
spot, finishing the regular season with a record of 14-10 and 8-6
in conference play. Under first-year head coach Janson Hightower,
the Pirates' 14 wins are their most for the program since the
2009-10 season, and this year's team doubled its conference win
total from a year ago. The Pirates entered last year’s
tournament as the seventh seed and narrowly missed the first-round
upset before falling to Centenary, 74-71. Southwestern boasts one
of the best defenses in the SCAC, holding opponents to league-lows
in both points per game (66.4) and field goal percentage (40.5
percent). Sophomore Zach Whitlock leads the Pirates' offense,
averaging 10.5 points per game and shooting a conference-best .543
from the floor. Freshman Ryan Ogden and junior Chris Lee are also
averaging double-digits, putting up 10.3 and 10.2 points,
respectively. Ogden has also been a force on the defensive side of
the ball, leading the team with 6.2 rebounds per game (fifth in the
SCAC) with Whitlock (5.5 rpg) and senior Blake Scott (4.4 rpg) just
behind. The Pirates will face No. 6 Schreiner University in
Friday's second quarterfinal match-up. Southwestern swept the
Mountaineers during the regular season, defeating them in
Kerrville, 74-54, and back home in Georgetown, 69-62. In the first
meeting between the two squads, Southwestern shot a season-best
60.0 percent (30-50) from the field - the second-best shooting
night from any team in the league this season.
The University of Dallas will play host to the 2015 SCAC
Basketball Tournament this year, and enter the weekend as the No. 4
seed after finishing the regular season with a record of 17-8 and
7-7 in SCAC play. UD is coming off a historic regular season as the
team began with seven straight wins, representing the
program’s second-best start since 1983 and the most
consecutive wins since the 2012-13 season. The Crusaders have
proved to be a force in Maher Athletic Center, posting a 7-2 record
at home. The team’s only home losses came during conference
play against Southwestern and Schreiner. The UD offensive effort is
led by the scoring of senior Aaron Wyatt who is leading the
Crusaders in both scoring (12.0 ppg - ninth in the SCAC) and
rebounding (6.3 rpg - fourth in the SCAC). Sophomore Michael Sarrat
is just behind at 11.5 points per game while shooting 43.6 percent
from the field, 42.1 percent from beyond the arc and 91.8 percent
from the charity stripe. Senior Kym Malone drives the UD engine,
averaging a league-high 4.6 assists per game. As a team, Dallas is
leading the SCAC in both field goal percentage (46.8 percent) and
three-point field goal percentage (41.8 percent) from beyond the
arc. Conversely, the UD defense ranks second in the league in
points allowed, holding opponents to just 68.0 points per game. The
Crusaders will face Colorado College in Friday's first quarterfinal
match-up. The two teams split their head-to-head matchups this
season, with both earning a win on their respective home floors
including a 65-59 win by Dallas on Feb. 7 at the site of this
year's postseason tournament. Colorado College, however, does have
recent tournament history on its side as the Tigers defeated Dallas
(89-81) in a quarterfinal round match-up from a year ago.
The Colorado College men’s basketball team earned the fifth
seed in this year's SCAC Men’s Basketball Tournament after
posting a record of 13-12 overall, including a 7-7 mark in
conference play. The Tigers entered the 2014 SCAC tournament as the
No. 4 seed and advanced to the semifinal round after an 89-81 win
over the University of Dallas before falling to eventual champion
Trinity the following day. This season, Colorado College has relied
on senior Chris Lesnansky, a 2014 first-team All-SCAC selection,
who is averaging 15.0 points (second in the SCAC) and 6.0 rebounds
per game (sixth in the SCAC). He is also shooting 49.4 percent from
the field (seventh in the SCAC). Juniors Justin Berardino and Luke
Winfield as well as senior Russell Clark have also been assets to
the team. Berardino ranks second among the Tigers, averaging 10.7
points per game, followed by Winfield (9.7 ppg) and Clark (7.0
ppg). After missing part of the season with an injury, junior James
Lonergan has contributed 4.4 points and 4.6 rebounds per game in 14
contests. The seeds are reversed from a year ago, but Colorado
College will once again face off against the University of Dallas
in first round play. The two split their games against each other
with both teams earning home victories - Colorado College 65-58 on
January 18; Dallas 65-59 on February 7. Lesnansky had stand-out
games in both contests, putting up 21 and 18 points, respectively.
The winner Friday's #4/#5 match-up will move on to face top-seeded
Texas Lutheran in Saturday's first semifinal contest.
Schriener University earned the sixth and final seed for this
year's SCAC tournament after finishing the regular season with an
overall record of 12-13; 5-9 in conference action. The Mountaineers
are under first-year head coach Connor Kuykendall, who took the
reigns in April after serving as an assistant coach for the team
for the last two seasons. Sitting with an overall record of 11-6
late inn the season, the Mountaineers endured a six-game losing
streak before righting the ship with a 66-63 home victory over
Austin College on February 14 which secured a postseason berth. The
team earned a spot in the SCAC record book earlier in the season
with a 91.7 percent shooting performance (11-12) from beyond the
arc in a Dec. 19 win against Pacific Lutheran. This bested the
former conference mark of 83.3 percent (10-12) which had stood
since 1996. In that game, sophomore Maverick Harris went 6-of-6
from beyond the arc, making him just the ninth player in SCAC
history to make at least six three-pointers in a single game
without missing. The Mountaineers’ scoring attack is led by
sophomore Wes Miller and senior Stevan Guerrero, who average 11.1
and 10.8 points per game, respectively. Guerrero also leads the
team in rebounding (5.9 rpg - seventh in the SCAC) while also
dishing out a team-high 3.4 assists per game (second in the SCAC).
Schreiner faces third-seeded Southwestern in Friday's second
quarterfinal match-up. Southwestern has swept the season series
against Schreiner, defeating the Mountaineers 74-54 in Kerrville on
Jan. 17 and 69-62 in Georgetown on Feb. 7.
Tournament action gets underway on Friday beginning at 1 p.m. CT.
The entire tournament schedule is listed below.
FRIDAY,
FEBRUARY 27
SCAC Men's Basketball Tournament - hosted by the
University of Dallas
Game 1 - No. 4 University of Dallas vs. No. 5
Colorado College - 5 p.m.
Game 2 - No. 3 Southwestern University vs. No. 6
Schreiner University - 7 p.m.
SATURDAY,
FEBRUARY 28
SCAC Men's Basketball Tournament - hosted by the
University of Dallas
Game 3 - No. 1 Texas Lutheran University vs.
Game 1 Winner - 5 p.m.
Game 4 - No. 2 Centenary College vs. Game 2
Winner - 7 p.m.
SUNDAY, MARCH
1
SCAC Men's Basketball Tournament - hosted by the
University of Dallas
Game 5 - Game 3 Winner vs. Game 4 Winner
– 2:30 p.m.
PAST SCAC MEN'S BASKETBALL TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
2014 - Trinity University (MVP - Robert Kitzinger,
Trinity)
2013 - Trinity University (MVP - Heath Hopson, Trinity)
2012 - Trinity University (MVP - Zach Lambert, Trinity)
2011 - Centre College (MVP - Greg Ross, Centre)
2010 - Centre College (MVP - Jeff Mullaney, Centre)
2009 - Centre College (MVP - Danny Noll, Centre)
2008 - Millsaps College (MVP - Edrick Montgomery, Millsaps)
2007 - Centre College (MVP - Matt Nestheide, Centre)
2006 - DePauw University (MVP - Austin Brown, DePauw)
2005 - Trinity University (MVP - Sean Devins, Trinity)
2004 - Trinity University (MVP - Sean Devins, Trinity)
2003 - Trinity University (MVP - Jason Morris, Trinity)
*The SCAC did not conduct a postseason basketball tournament prior to the 2002-2003 season; the league champion was determined by regular season finish.
