Men's Basketball Recap (Week 8) - Around the SCAC

Men's Basketball Recap (Week 8) - Around the SCAC

SUWANEE, Ga. - Austin College, Birmingham-Southern and Colorado Colorado College all posted perfect 2-0 records in SCAC play during the week of January 9th-16th. Austin College extended its winning streak to four games while the Panthers of BSC are riding a seven game win streak. Colorado College has won three straight.

AROUND THE SCAC

Austin College extended its winning streak to four games with two SCAC wins over Eastern Division teams in Millsaps (68-47) and Rhodes (68-59). With the wins, the Kangaroos are now 10-6 overall and 6-1 in SCAC play and remain atop the SCAC West Division standings. Against Millsaps, Austin College was led by Antoine Thompson’s 15 points on 6 for 9 shooting. A total of four Kangaroos scored in double-figures. The ‘Roos out-rebounded Millsaps by a 36-29 margin. Against Rhodes, AC was led by Jordan Hancock’s game-high 22 points on 7 of 15 shooting. He also added three rebounds. Once again four ‘Roos scored in double-figures to lead the way. Austin College returns to action on January 20 when they travel to Birmingham-Southern and Oglethorpe on January 22, respectively.

No. 14 Birmingham-Southern won both of its games this week, extending its winning streak to seven games. The Panthers defeated Southwestern on Friday, 81-62, and Trinity on Saturday, 66-58. Against the Pirates, junior Kevin Kegarise led all players with 16 points, followed by senior Jasen Jonus with 14, senior Caleb Lee with 11, and sophomore Griffin Schamp with 10. Junior Zac Richards led with eight rebounds, and sophomore Jason Holland led with five assists and three steals. Against Trinity, Lee led BSC with 14 points, shooting 4-of-5 from the field and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. Jonus also scored 12 points, and sophomore Nick Murphy had 11. Richards led with eight rebounds and junior Blaise White had four assists and three steals. The Panthers return home this weekend, hosting Austin College, Friday, and University of Dallas, Saturday, both at 8 p.m. in Bill Battle Coliseum.

Centre went on the road this week to take on two Western Division foes. The Colonels played at Colorado College on Friday night. Centre fell behind early and played from behind the entire game. The Colonels did manage to come back and cut the lead to a point with 26 seconds to go, but Colorado hit their free throws down the stretch and won the game 62-57. Greg Ross was the leading scorer in the game with 27 points on 12-18 shooting. On Sunday Centre played the Hendrix Warriors in Conway. Hendrix kept it close for a half, but the Colonels blew the game open in the second half thanks to some blistering shooting. Donovan Whiteside led Centre with 18 points while Josh Karsner, Collin Lopez and Jeff Mullaney each scored in double figures for the Colonels, who pulled away to a 77-65 victory. Centre will play host to Southwestern and Dallas this week.

Playing at home for just the third and fourth times this season, Colorado College defeated Centre and Sewanee in its first games against East Division teams this season. Sophomore guard Ryan Milne scored a season-high 26 points, but the Tigers needed a pair of free throws by junior forward Ian Rewoldt with 24 seconds to play to secure a 62-57 victory over Centre on Friday night. Sophomore guard Jake Tramutolo scored 14 of his career-high 21 points during the second half as Colorado College came from behind to defeat Sewanee, 68-60, on Sunday afternoon. Tramutolo, who tied his career high with five 3-pointers, drained a pair during an 8-2 run, including one that tied the game at 53-53 with 4:54 to play. The Tigers go back on the road next weekend for games at Millsaps and Rhodes.

Dallas
(4-12, 2-5 SCAC) split two games during the week to SCAC Eastern Division teams. Friday Rhodes visited the Crusaders. Rhodes shot 56-percent (14-of-25) in the second half, to pull away for an 86-74 victory. Tanner Bruffey racked up a game-high 18 points for the Crusaders in defeat. Millsaps then visited Dallas on Sunday afternoon. Trailing 50-48 to Millsaps with 3:20 to go in regulation, Bruffey sent the game to overtime on a converted jumper from the top of the key with 13 seconds remaining. Tied 50-50 entering overtime, Dallas went on a 6-0 run to end the game in the final 1:31. Bruffey sank a layup at 1:03 of the extra frame, before driving for the game-winning layup with 2.6 seconds remaining to secure a 56-55 victory for the Crusaders. On the schedule this week for Dallas are two SCAC road contests -- Oglethorpe (Friday, Jan. 20, at 8 p.m.) and Birmingham-Southern College (Saturday, Jan. 8, at 3 p.m.).

Hendrix
dropped a pair of games at home over the weekend, falling to 71-57 to Sewanee on Friday and 77-65 to Centre on Sunday. Against the Tigers, junior guard Jaren Riley led the way with 17 points and had five rebounds. Sophomore forward Colton Primm grabbed eight boards and blocked four shots. Freshman forward Zach Mainer came off the bench for season best seven points and six rebounds. On Sunday, senior center Nick Heathscott scored 21 points to become the 29th player in Hendrix history to pass the 1,000 career point milestone. The Warriors will travel to Rhodes on Friday and Millsaps on Sunday.

Millsaps
struggles continued this past weekend as they dropped two more games and lost their fifth straight game and sixth out of their last seven. On Friday, the Majors fell behind early and could not overcome a large deficit as they fell to the Austin College 'Roos on Friday evening, 68-47. On Sunday, Millsaps looked as though they were about to pick up a huge win over the University of Dallas on Sunday afternoon to complete their seven game road trip. However, the Crusaders converted on a layup with three seconds remaining to knock of Millsaps 56-55 in overtime. Millsaps falls to 6-9 overall and 1-5 in the SCAC. The Majors finally return home on Friday as they host their White-Out Game at 8 p.m. against Colorado College. All fans are encouraged to wear white and the first 100 students to arrive and show their student ID will receive a free White-Out t-shirt.

Oglethorpe
split its two games in Texas last week, losing 76-54 to Trinity on Friday before finishing winning at Southwestern 77-55 on Saturday. Against Trinity, Oglethorpe was led by Alec Pitts' 11 points and Andrew Steioff’s 10 points. The Stormy Petrels committed were narrowly out-rebounded by a 31-29 margin. Against Southwestern, Oglethorpe was led by Sam Purdy’s game-high 18 points while three other Petrels also scored in double-figures in the win. The Petrels were once again out-rebounded but forced 25 Southwestern turnovers. Oglethorpe is now 7-9 overall and 2-5 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference play. OU returns to action on January 20 when they host Dallas and then Austin College on January 22.

Rhodes splits its two road conference matchups against the West Division, beating Dallas 86-74 and losing a tight matchup against Austin College 68-59. Friday saw the Lynx grab hold of an early second half lead against the Dallas Crusaders, but were unable to put them away until five minutes remaining when sophomore Patrick McGrail knocked down a three pointer from the corner to take a 15 point lead. Six Lynx scored in double figures for the balanced attack. In the second of a back to back, the Lynx fell to Western Division leader Austin College by nine. Rhodes fought hard on the road but could not mustard enough offensive production as they struggled to shoot only 38% from the field. The Lynx return home this weekend as they face Hendrix on Friday at 8 p.m. and Colorado College on Sunday at 1 p.m.

Sewanee (8-6 overall, 3-4 SCAC) posted a record of 1-2 on the week. The Tigers opened the week with a tough 56-54 overtime loss to Free Will Baptist on Tuesday before splitting a pair of SCAC games with Hendrix (W 71-57) and Colorado College (L 68-60). Against Free Will Baptist, Valentino Bryant scored a team-high 16 points for the Tigers. He also chipped in with five assists and two blocks. Against Hendrix, Sewanee was again led by Bryant’s game-high 14 points. Finally, Bryant finished the Colorado College game with another team-high 14 points. The Tigers held a slim 34-33 halftime lead on the strength of 62.5 percent shooting. The second half proved different as Sewanee struggled to shoot 36 percent from the floor in a close eight point loss. Sewanee returns to action on January 20 and 21 hosting Trinity and Southwestern, respectively.

Southwestern returned to SCAC play this weekend, facing Birmingham-Southern on Friday night and Oglethorpe on Saturday. SU played a gutsy game against east leading Birmingham-Southern on Friday night, leading through the better part of the first 30 minutes of the game, but ultimately fell after a strong final push by the Panthers 81-62. Saturday the Pirates found themselves trailing by 12 at halftime with an Oglethorpe team that was on fire from three point range, but were able to pull within nine points with nine minutes to play. A final run by the Stormy Petrels allowed them to pull away to the 77-55 final. The Pirates sit at 1-14 overall and 1-5 in the SCAC. They hit the road this weekend to face Centre on Friday and Sewanee on Saturday.

Trinity
split a pair of SCAC home games this weekend, defeating Oglethorpe 76-54 on Friday, but falling 66-58 against 19th-ranked Birmingham-Southern on Saturday. The Tigers fall to 2-3 all-time against BSC, having lost each of the past two meetings. Trinity had previously lost two straight regular season meetings against Oglethorpe (though the Tigers did defeat the Petrels in the SCAC Tournament in 2009-10). The Tigers are now 17-5 (including conference tournament games) against Oglethorpe under head coach Pat Cunningham. Trinity will be on the road for two more conference tilts next weekend, taking on Sewanee and Centre on Friday and Saturday nights. The Tigers defeated Sewanee 58-40 on the road last year, but lost 73-61 at Centre. Trinity has lost each of its past three meetings with the Colonels, but has won 11 in a row over Sewanee – dating back to the 2003-04 season.

For the complete SCAC Men's Hoops Weekly for Week 8, click here.

Happy Holidays from the SCAC!
December 25, 2011 Happy Holidays from the SCAC!