LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – The Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball season is winding down as two teams finished out conference-play this weekend, while the six remaining have one game left before the 2015 SCAC Basketball Championship.
Centenary College finished out the season this week, defeating both Southwestern University and Texas Lutheran University to earn at least a share of the SCAC regular season title. The Gents have also secured a first-round bye in the tournament.
Schreiner University earned a win this weekend over Austin College to guarantee a bid to the tournament, knocking Austin College out of the running.
Trinity University earned wins at home against Austin College and the University of Dallas, the Tigers' first consecutive wins of the season.
Going into the final three games of the season, Centenary College leads the pack with an 11-3 record. Texas Lutheran is in second place with a 10-3 record, followed by Southwestern at 8-5. Colorado College is finished for the regular season, posting a 7-7 mark. SCAC tournament host, Dallas, has a record of 6-7, holding onto the fifth seed, while the Mountaineers will go into their final game with a record of 5-8.
Austin College
The 'Roos couldn't produce a win this weekend as they traveled to Trinity and Schreiner. To begin the weekend, AC took on Trinity, falling 55-41. None of the 'Roos' players were able to notch a double-digit scoring mark, but Brian Baehl put up nine points to lead the team. Cedric Hudson and Eghosa Iguinosa each put up eight points. Hudson matched teammate Austin Freet with eight rebounds to lead the team. The following night, the 'Roos played Schreiner, but dropped the road game 66-63. Baehl led the team in scoring again, this time putting up 20 points. Baehl also shot a perfect 12-of-12 from the charity stripe and led the team with six rebounds, four assists and two steals. Kevin Graham posted 14 points in the game and Hudson rounded out the top-scorers with 11. The 'Roos shot .383 on the night, improving by more than 10% over their Friday night performance. They were also able to control the ball better, committing only six turnovers, 11 less than the previous evening.
Centenary College
With two wins this weekend, the Gents secured at least a share of their first SCAC regular season championship. Friday night, CC hosted Texas Lutheran in the Gold Dome and defeated the Bulldogs 66-65. The two teams were tied with seven seconds remaining after a TLU three-pointer, but a found with four second on the clock send Kendall Demouchet to the line, where he gave CC a one-point lead that held. James Sapp led the team with 18 points, followed by 16 from Travion Kirkendoll. Demouchet rounded out the double-digit scorers with 10 points of his own, while grabbing three steals to lead all players. Sapp also grabbed seven rebounds in the game to lead the Gents. Caden Cheramie put up six points, while grabbing six rebounds and dishing out a team-high three assists. The Gents shot .442 from the field and .500 from beyond the arc, while holding the Bulldogs to marks of .404 and .278, respectively. Sunday, the Gents hosted Southwestern, earning another close win as they took down the Pirates 68-64. Kirkendoll and teammate Brandon Campbell each posted a team-leading 17 points in the game. Kirkendoll also grabbed seven rebounds.
Colorado College
Colorado College split its final two games of the regular season to finish the year with a 9-2 record at Reid Arena. On Friday night against Southwestern, the Tigers made several clutch plays during the final four minutes to secure the 65-59 victory. After senior forward Chris Lesnansky put CC ahead with 1:48 to go, junior guard Juwan Rohan and senior guard Ryan Kell forced a turnover that turned into a three-point lead when junior swingman Luke Winfield knocked down a jumper from the left wing. On the next defensive possession, the Tigers forced another turnover and Winfield sank two free throws after he was fouled while grabbing an offensive rebound. Junior guard Justin Berardino sealed the victory with a another steal. Senior forward Russell Clark went 5-for-5 from the floor and led Colorado College with 15 points. Winfield finished with 12 points, while Lesnansky added 10. On Sunday against Texas Lutheran, Berardino forced overtime when he scored two of his 18 points with 6.5 seconds remaining in regulation, but the Bulldogs made the big plays during the extra session and escaped with a 61-58 victory. Clark gave the Tigers a 54-50 lead, but TLU took the lead on back-to-back three pointers for the final lead change of the game. Berardino led the Tigers with 18 points, while Clark finished with 12 points and a team-high seven rebounds. Winfield added 12 points and five boards.
University of Dallas
The Crusaders hit the road this weekend to take on Trinity and Schreiner, going 1-1 on the trip. UD started off with an 87-77 win over Schreiner to deny the Mountaineers their shot at a tournament bid. Mark Promberger led the team with 19 points in the game, while three other Crusaders added double digit marks. Victor Garate added 17 points, shooting 5-of-6 from beyond the arc, while Aaron Wyatt and Michael Sarrat added 16 and 14, respectively. The Crusaders found success from long-range, shooting .714, topping their already impressive mark of .596 from the field. Kym Malone dished out 10 assists in the game to lead all players. Saturday, the Crusaders took on Trinity, but fell 80-73. Promberger had another big scoring night, leading UD with 20 points and 10 rebounds in the game. Sarrat added 15 points, while Lorenzo Gonzalez notched 13.
Schreiner University
The Mountaineers hosted Dallas and Austin College this weekend, going 1-1 in their match-ups. A win over AC in the second game of the weekend also earned Schreiner a bid to the SCAC Championship. Friday night, the Mountaineers hosted the Crusaders, falling 87-77. Wes Miller led the team with 14 points in the game, while also grabbing five rebounds. Stevan Guerrero and Hollis Robinson put up 12 and 11 points, respectively. Guerrero also added a team-leading five assists, while Robinson grabbed six rebounds. Schreiner shot .474 from the field, but couldn't stop an impressive shooting performance from UD. SU missed just two shots from the charity stripe in the game, going 15-of-17 from the line, led by a perfect 5-of-5 performance from Miller. The following night, the Mountaineers hosted Austin College, determined to earn their spot in the SCAC tournament. Miller came out strong, scoring a game-high 20 points. Christian Pena added 14 points in the game. Robinson grabbed eight boards to lead all players, also adding five points in just 17 minutes of play.
Southwestern University
The Pirates made the long trip from Georgetown to Colorado/Louisiana this weekend, beginning their travels in the mountains. Against Colorado College, Southwestern fell 65-59. With two minutes remaining in the game, the Pirates took a one-point lead, 59-58, but it was all Tigers after that. Chris Lee led the squad with 16 points, followed by Zach Whitlock with 13. Nnamdi Akabogu grabbed a team-high five rebounds. Sunday the Pirates took on Centenary in Louisiana, but fell 68-64. Travis Kurtz led the team with 15 points, adding three rebounds and a trio of steals on the day. Adrian Johnson was the Pirates' only other double-digit scorer, putting up 11 points. Johnson also led all players with six assists in the game, while Blake Scott grabbed a game-high eight boards.
Texas Lutheran University
The Bulldogs began their weekend on the road against Centenary College, in a battle for the SCAC's top spot. A foul by TLU with four seconds remaining in the game gave Centenary a chance to take a lead at the line. The Gents converted on one of the free throws, taking a 66-65 lead that held until the end. Holmes led the Bulldogs with 18 points in the game, while adding four rebounds, two assists and a pair of steals. Jordan Kouremetis added 15 points. Donte McGee pulled down a game-high eight rebounds. Two days later, the Bulldogs took on Colorado College. It remained a close game throughout, and TLU needed five extra minutes to earn 61-58 overtime win. Kouremetis put up a game-high 18 points, while McGee added 16 points and 13 rebounds. Sterling Holmes notched just four points, but grabbed six rebounds and dished out five assists.
Trinity University
The Tigers had a winning weekend at home, knocking off Dallas and Austin College. Friday night, the Tigers took on the 'Roos, defeating them 55-41. Matt Selling led the team with 14 points, while adding six rebounds. Brian Blum was the team's only other double-digit scorer, notching 11 points in 23 minutes of action. Matt Jones led the defense with seven rebounds and four steals, while also dishing out a team-high three assists on offense. Despite shooting just .340 from the field and .176 from beyond the arc, the Tigers were able to hold AC to marks of .276 and .176, respectively. Trinity forced 17 turnovers by the 'Roos, leading to 21 points. The following night, Craig Saltarelli and Selling teamed up to score more than half of the points for the Tigers, each posting 21. Jones and A.J. Pulliam rounded out the double-digit scorers, posting 13 and 11, respectively. Jones also notched seven rebounds, four steals and two blocks, all team-high marks. William Young grabbed five rebounds in the game, while dishing out a nine rebounds. The Tigers drastically improved their shooting marks from the previous night, shoot .433 from the field and .423 from long-range, led by Selling and Saltarelli who knocked in four three-pointers each.
