Three-Peat After Me; Trinity Men Win Third Consecutive SCAC Basketball Title

(Portions of this story contributed by Trinity University athletics)
(Photo by Josh Moczygemba)

SAN ANTONIO, Texas - Tournament MVP Robert Kitzginer had 22 points and eight rebounds to lead Trinity University to an 82-70 victory over Centenary College in the championship game of the 2014 SCAC Men's Basketball Tournament Sunday afternoon on the campus of Trinity. The title is the third consecutive for the Tigers who improved to 19-9 and will represent the SCAC in the NCAA Division III Tournament as the league's automatic qualifier. Box Score | Official Tournament Website | Robert Kitzinger (TU) Postgame Interview | Zach Lambert (TU) Postgame Interview | Pat Cunningham (TU) Postgame Interview | Adam Walsh (CENT) Postgame Interview

The Trinity duo of Zach Lambert pitched in with 18 points and Jonathan Wilt had a double-double of 14 points and 11 rebounds to join Kitzinger on the All-Tournament Team.

Centenary (18-10) was paced by Jonathan Blount, who had 24 points and five rebounds. He and teammate James Sapp, who had a double-double of 12 points and 20 rebounds, were also named to the 2014 All-Tournament team. The 20 rebounds by Sapp set a new SCAC Tournament single-game record.

AJ Myres of Schreiner University was also named to the All-Tournament Team.

Trinity (19-9) had already secured its third straight berth in the NCAA Division III Playoffs, as Centenary is still in transition to Division III (therefore not eligible for the postseason). The pairings will be announced Monday morning, and the tournament begins later in the week. Head Coach Pat Cunningham, elected the SCAC Co-Coach of the Year on Saturday, earned his seventh conference championship at the Tigers helm.

The Tigers led 44-33 at halftime, shooting over 53 percent in the opening period. The Gents closed to eight points on several occasions in the second half of play, including a 48-56 mark with 9:36 on the clock. But Trinity pulled away late, leading by as much as 16 points (74-58) with 1:49 left in the game.

Kitzinger shot 7-15 from the field, sank 6-7 free throws, and pulled down eight rebounds. He also tied Rich Skeen (1990-1994) for Trinity’s all-time record in three-point field goals made (225), scoring two in today's game.

Matt Selling contributed 11 points to round out Trinity’s double-figure scorers. William Young led the matchup with seven assists, surpassing 300 in his career.

The Gents concluded their season with an 18-10 record. Trinity and Centenary split their two-game regular-season series.