LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. – Seven of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference's eight team competed this weekend, earning a cumulative record of 6-9. The eighth, Trinity University, did play, but the game was considered an exhibition for the Tigers.
Among the highlights, the University of Dallas Crusaders continued their hot streak, improving to 6-0 on the season after winning games against Linfield College and Portland Bible College on the road. This is the Crusaders best start since the team's 2000-01 campaign where the squad produced a 12-0 stretch to begin the season.
Texas Lutheran University and Southwestern University matched up in a non-conference tilt this week as Pirates' first-year head coach Jansen Hightower earned his first collegiate victory.
Centenary College split a pair of contests this weekend, defeating Rhodes College before falling to No. 4 Illinois Wesleyan.
Austin College
The 'Roos began the week at home against Bacone before heading to Memphis, Tenn. to take on Rhodes and Illinois Wesleyan over the weekend, but fell in all three match-ups. In their first game of the week, AC took on Bacone, falling 84-75 in the team's first loss of the season. Jeremy Swisher led the team with 16 points, while Andres Rivera came off the bench to put up 13 points, knocking down 4-of-5 three-pointers. Austin Freet finished with eight points and a team-leading nine rebounds. Saturday, AC took on IWU, but fell 85-57 to the fourth-ranked team. Brian Baehl and Cedric Hudson each notched a team-leading nine points, while 12 players got into the scoring column. Alan Sullivan and Rivera each scored seven points and Freet put up another team-best seven rebounds. To close out the week, the 'Roos took on Rhodes, but struggled to find anything offensively in the first half. At the break, AC trailed 48-19, but put in a huge offensive effort in the second half, outscoring the Lynx 42-32, but it wasn't enough for a comeback. For the third game in this week, Freet led AC on the boards, putting up five rebounds. Swisher picked up a team-leading 13 points.
Centenary College
The Gents split their weekend, defeating Rhodes College 65-57 Saturday before falling 92-71 to Illinois Wesleyan. In the first game, Travion Kirkendoll paced the team with 18 points, shooting 5-of-8 from the field and 6-of-8 from the charity stripe. Kirkendoll also notched three assists and three steals in the game. Kendall Demouchet was one of the team's other three players in double-digit scoring, putting up 14 points, followed by Jacob Broussard with 12 and James Sapp with 11. Sapp led the team on the boards, marking eight rebounds, followed by Demouchet with seven. The Gents shot 47.9% from the field, while holding Rhodes to just 38.9%.CC also put up 12 steals in the game and forced 13 total turnovers by the Lynx. Sunday, the Gents met up with No. 4 IWU. Kirkendoll led the team again with a season-high 20 points, shooting 7-14 from the field and a perfect 5-5 from the charity stripe. Sapp was the only other Centenary player to score double-figures, adding 12 points. Kirkendoll also led the team with four rebounds and three steals. For the second night in a row, the Gents marked 12 steals to force 19 turnovers by IWU, while only marking six of their own.
Colorado College
The Tigers faced another NCAA Division II opponent this week, falling to Regis University Tuesday evening before returning to Division III competition over the weekend, splitting their two games. Against Regis, Chris Lesnansky put up a season-high 24 points and six rebounds to lead the team. Luke Winfield marked 12 points in the game while Eric Houska rounded out the top scorers with 10 points. Winfield marked six rebounds, tying Lesnansky for the team-leading mark. Friday evening, the Tigers hosted the University of Northwestern, earning a 70-61 win. Lesnansky and Tyler Jonas each put up 16 points in the win to lead the Tigers, while Mitch Carter added 11. James Lonergan led the team on the boards, putting up six rebounds. Houska added three steals for the Tigers, who forced 19 UN turnovers. To close out the week, the Tigers faced the University of Dubuque, but fell 77-68. Houska led the team with 15 points and five steals, while Carter, Lesnansky and Russell Clark were close behind with 14 points apiece. Clark also led the Tigers with seven rebounds in the game.
University of Dallas
The Crusaders continued their winning streak, improving to 6-0 on the season with two wins on the rod this weekend. Friday, UD defeated Linfield College 61-51, led by 12 points from Aaron Wyatt. After a low scoring first half with the Crusaders down 24-16, they made a strong second half push to earn a 45-27 scoring advantage. Michael Sarrat put up 10 points in the game, while Mark Promberger led the team with six rebounds. UD shot 45.7% from the gield, and 78.9% from the charity stripe, while holding Linfield to just 36% shooting. The game remained close throughout as there were eight ties and 10 lead changes. To finish out the weekend, the Crusaders defeated Portland Bible College 72-60.
Schreiner University
The Mountaineers fell to Hardin-Simmons 59-58 in a weird turn of events in their only game during the week. After HSU missed a game-winning shot, a technical foul was called on an SU player with less than half a second on the clock to give the Cowboys two free throws, which proved to be game-winning points. Stevan Guerrero led the team with 16 points, putting up eight rebounds as well. Christian Pena and Phillip Kee added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Kee led the team with 11 rebounds in the game, while Hollis Robinson added 10 rebounds of his own for the Mountaineers.
Southwestern University
The Pirates earned new head coach Jansen Hightower his first win Monday evening, defeating conference foe Texas Lutheran 55-53 at home. Zach Whitlock posted a career high 16 points and 15 rebounds in the win, leading the team. Chris Lee chipped in with 12 points, while Ryan Ogden posted seven boards off the bench. The Pirates shot just 36.2% from the floor, but held TLU to 32.1% shooting.
Texas Lutheran University
The Bulldogs fell to Southwestern University this week in a non-conference meeting. Garrett Wilkins paced the team with 11 points, while nine other players were able to score. Zach Behr led the Bulldogs rebounding attack, marking seven in the game, while Donte McGee was behind him with five. After shooting over 50% from beyond the arc in the first half, TLU finished the game with a 47.4% mark, making nine three-pointers in the game. Tuesday, the Bulldogs fell to Huston-Tillotson 96-72. Josh Sanchez led the team with 11 points, while 14 other players marked at least one point in the game. McGee led the team with six rebounds in the game, hwhile Sterling Holmes put up dished out four assists. Over the weekend, however, the Bulldogs picked up their first win of the season, beating Millsaps College on the road 73-67. TLU hit their first nine shots of the game to take an early 26-15 lead, including six three-pointers, four by Jordan Kouremetis. Holmes led the team with 21 points, while Kouremetis added 19, shooting 5-11 from beyond the arc. Holmes went 3-of-4 from long distance as well. McGee led the team on the boards once again, grabbing five rebounds, while Sanchez dished out five assists. The Bulldogs shot 52.4% from the field, including 47.6% from three-point range. They also shot a perfect 19-of-19 from the charity stripe.
Trinity University
Although the game did not count in the standings, Trinity did play once this past week - dropping a 77-60 to Division II St. Edward's University in an inter-divisional exhibition game Tuesday night in Austin. Trinity resumes its regular-season schedule Monday, by returning to Austin. The Tigers (0-4) meet Concordia University at 7:30 p.m. in a Division III matchup. The team heads to St. Louis, Missouri, to compete in the Lopata Classic December 5-6 at Washington University. Back home, the Tigers will host Whitworth University at 7:00 p.m. December 18.
