SUWANEE, Ga. - The first weekend in February saw three league games to into overtime, of which, two went to double overtime. Hendrix survived a wild double overtime game (105-94) over Southwestern. Austin College took down Colorado College, 93-91 in two extra frames and Oglethorpe survived an upset minded Rhodes squad, 79-79 in overtime.
AROUND THE SCAC
Austin College topped Colorado
College 93-91 in double overtime in their lone game of the week to
improve to 10-10 overall and 6-6 in SCAC play. The ‘Roos
trailed by as many as 13 points in the first half but two Josh
Saunders three pointers helped cut it to a two point game at the
break, and the ‘Roos came back to force overtime on a Mark
Auten basket with just two seconds remaining to tie the score at 75
apiece. In the first overtime Austin College led by as many as
seven points at 84-77 but the Tigers closed the gap and forced a
second overtime when Nick Rose knocked down a pair of free throws
with one second left to tie things up at 87, and after a Scott
Straley three pointer tied things at 90 early in the second
overtime, Auten’s basket put the ‘Roos on top for good
and they would hold on for a 93-91 win. Jordan Hancock scored 20 to
pace the ‘Roos and Walter Phillips added 18 points and nine
rebounds. Ransom Okpala scored 16, Straley finished with 15 and
Saunders added 11.
Birmingham-Southern kept its win streak alive
with two more victories on the road, defeating Sewanee on Friday,
78-53, and Oglethorpe on Sunday, 79-77. The Panthers are now 18-1
on the season and have won 13 straight games. BSC steps out of
conference play Wednesday, taking on in-state rival Huntingdon
College in Montgomery, and then faces Rhodes in Memphis on
Saturday.
No. 17 Centre fell 65-63 to DePauw in a home SCAC
contest Saturday afternoon. The loss snapped a four-game winning
streak overall against the Tigers and a seven-game winning streak
at home. The Colonels six-game losing streak also came to an end as
Centre lost for the first time this season when shooting 40.0% or
better. Junior forward Greg Ross scored a game-high 21 points,
while junior guard Jeff Mullaney added 15 and freshman forward
Donovan Whiteside finished with 13 points. Centre will return to
action this week with a pair of SCAC home contests against Sewanee
and Oglethorpe.
Nick Rose scored a career-high 39 points,
but Colorado College dropped
its third consecutive game with a 93-91 setback against
Austin College in double overtime. Rose scored nine points during
the first overtime, including a pair on clutch free throws
with 0.2 seconds remaining, to extend the contest. The Tigers
nearly forced a third overtime, but Jake Tramutolo’s
floater in the paint went off the iron as time expired. CC took a
three-point lead 55 seconds into the second overtime. The
Tigers had a chance to tie the game or win it on a
three-pointer inside the final 20 seconds, but committed a turnover
with seven seconds to go. Ian Rewoldt posted career highs
with 19 points and 12 rebounds while recording the first
double-double of his career. Colorado College travels to
Trinity and Southwestern on Friday and Sunday, respectively, for
its final road games of the regular season.
Hendrix split a pair of conference games this
weekend after a thrilling double-overtime win against Southwestern
on Friday and then a loss to Trinity on Saturday night. The
Warriors now stand at 7-14 overall and 3-10 in SCAC action. Hendrix
came back from a 10-point deficit with 2:01 left in regulation to
send the game into overtime and the Warriors survived on clutch
free throw shooting in the second overtime to earn a 105-94 victory
over Southwestern. Hendrix used a full-court press to ignite a 14-4
run in the last two minutes of regulation. Junior Nick Heathscott
knocked down a layup to get things started and a 3-pointer from
junior Ammon Martin brought the Warriors to within five points,
71-66, with 1:33 to go. Hendrix shot just 28.3 percent from the
field (17-of-60), while Trinity used a balanced attack with four
players in double-figures to outlast the Warriors, 60-45, on
Saturday. Trinity led the entire way and jumped out to an 18-8 lead
with 12:33 left in the first half. John Boxberger drained a
3-pointer to send Trinity into the locker room with a 35-21
advantage at the break. Trinity scored 14 points off
Hendrix’s eight first-half turnovers and scored 11
second-chance points off six offensive rebounds.
Millsaps split their last two home conference
matchups this weekend, losing 53-45 to Trinity on Friday before
rebounding, 85-79, against Southwestern on Saturday. The Majors cut
their second half deficit against the Tigers to six twice in the
last 1:41 on Friday but could not close the gap. Saturday, Millsaps
was up one, 71-70, with 1:19 to play before Nick Cortese hit the
Majors' last field goal of the night. Fortunately, they took care
of business at the line, scoring their last 12 points from the
charity stripe. The game ended on a 14-9 Millsaps run to seal the
win for the Purple and White. The Majors will return home for one
more regular season game in the Hangar Dome Tuesday night as they
host Covenant College at 7 p.m. before they head up to Hendrix on
Saturday.
Oglethorpe split its final two home games of the
season this past weekend, winning a thriller over Rhodes (79-78 OT)
on Friday and dropping a thriller to Birmingham-Southern on Sunday
(79-77). Against Rhodes, Todd Ward rattled in two free throws with
0.1 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game into overtime.
Alex Richey missed a three-pointer in the corner with 5 ticks
showing but Ward grabbed the rebound and got fouled. Ward's first
free throw came up high off the back iron before falling
into the net. Rhodes was not able to get a shot off. Sunday, the
Petrels led BSC by one point following a Ward bucket with 8 ticks
left but the Panthers countered with a game-winning basket. The
Panthers countered quickly on a long outlet pass and forced an
intentional foul. The Panthers tied the game at the free throw line
then won the game. The Petrels (13-9, 9-4) will travel to DePauw
Friday.
Rhodes played two of the most exciting games of
the season this weekend, finishing 1 - 1. Friday, the Lynx
went to Oglethorpe but was on the short end of a classic, 79 -
78 in OT. The Lynx were led by freshman Johnny Dunavant
and sophomores Andrew Galow and Theo Hartwell. Dunavant scored
23 points on 7 of 9 shooting from the three-point line. Galow
added 19 points and dished out 9 assists. Off the bench, Theo
Hartwell put in 10 points (5-5 shooting) and grabbed 8 rebounds in
only 19 minutes. Sunday, Rhodes was up 1 point heading to
the free-throw line for a one-and-one. The Lynx were able to knock
down the two free throws and intercept the inbounds pass for the
victory, 57 - 54. Galow finished with 14 points and 5
rebounds, while Hartwell added 10 points and grabbed 5
rebounds. For the weekend, Galow averaged 16 points, 4.5
rebounds and 5.5 assists/game. The Lynx host BSC Saturday at 8
p.m.
Sewanee found itself on the losing end of two
conference clashes this weekend, but picked up a non-conference win
over Covenant College on Tuesday to end the week at 8-13 overall
and 3-10 in the SCAC. The Tigers squeaked past the Scots on Tuesday
when Brett Bouldin nailed a 3-pointer as time expired to give
Sewanee a 55-52 road win. On Friday, Birmingham-Southern jumped out
to a large first-half lead on their way to a 78-53 victory on the
Mountain. Sam Martin led the Tigers with 13 points and six rebounds
in the loss. On Sunday, t was the Lynx who prevailed in the last
seconds. Rhodes’ John Dunavant connected on a pair of free
throws to seal the Lynx’s 57-54 win with just one second left
on the clock. Valentino Bryant led Sewanee with 13 points, six
rebounds and six assists. Sewanee plays next at Centre and DePauw
this weekend in a pair of SCAC clashes.
Southwestern had a tough weekend, dropping both
games on the road despite playing well. They fall to 4-18 on the
year and 2-11 in the SCAC. The Pirates led by 10 points with two
minutes to play in regulation but ultimately fell 105-94 in double
overtime to Hendrix on Friday night. Senior Nick Caputo posted his
first double-double of the season with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
Southwestern shot well on Saturday night at Millsaps, going 56%
from the floor and 52.2% from three point range. Millsaps defeated
the Pirates 85-79. With three games to play the Pirates need to win
out and have Millsaps and Hendrix to lose their final three games,
but still have a shot at the SCAC tournament.
Trinity swept its final road games of the regular season
last weekend, defeating both Millsaps and Hendrix for the second
time this season. With the wins, the Tigers have clinched a spot in
the SCAC Tournament, held at Millsaps College at the end of the
month. Trinity is currently in second place in the SCAC West
Division, just a half-game behind Colorado College. The Tiger
defense has held four opponents to fewer than 50 points in a game
four times this season, including twice this past weekend. Trinity
held off a late rally by Millsaps to earn a 53-45 win on Friday,
then held Hendrix to under 30% shooting to cruise to a 60-45 win on
Saturday night. Luke Caldarera moved into the top 10 in Trinity
history in scoring, needing just 21 more points to reach 1,300 in
his career. Trinity will face division-leading Colorado College and
Austin College this weekend.
For the complete SCAC Men's Hoops Weekly for Week
11, click here.