SCAC Men's Basketball Recap - Week Seven

Posted: Jan 07, 2019

LAWRENCEVILLE, Ga. -- It was a busy holiday break as all nine Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference men's basketball teams were in action highlighted by five squads opening the conference portion of their schedules.

Austin College (6-7, 2-2) opened SCAC play and is off to a 2-2 start with wins over Dallas and Colorado College on the road. Justin Mercadel scored 20 points in the win over the Crusaders and has now hit the 20-point plateau in two of his last four games. Against Colorado College, the 'Roos hit 71.4 percent from the line and improved to 3-1 on the year when hitting 70 percent or better from the charity stripe.

Centenary (5-9, 3-3) played six league games during a busy stretch over the break, collecting wins over Dallas, Texas Lutheran and Colorado College to open 3-3 in SCAC play. Treylan Matthews led the way for the Gents, shooting 45 percent or better in four of the six contests, averaging 16.7 points, 4.3 assists and 2.5 rebounds per contest. Centenary has now won two of its last three and four of its last seven after starting the season, 1-6.

Colorado College (5-11, 1-6) defeated Schreiner, 86-79, to close out 2018 with a huge effort from Devin Martinez off the bench. Martinez secured his first double-double of his career with 24 points and 12 rebounds in the win.

Dallas (4-8, 3-2) is currently riding a three-game winning following wins against Colorado College, Johnson & Wales and Trinity and is currently one of four league teams above .500 in conference action after opening the year, 0-2. The Crusaders have shot 45 percent or better in each game during this current winning streak and are now a perfect 4-0 on the season when hitting that mark.

Johnson & Wales (11-5, 4-3) became the first squad in the league to reach double digit wins on the season after back-to-back victories over Austin College and Centenary at home over the weekend. Jontrell Herman hit the 30-point plateau for the fifth time this year in the win over the 'Roos with 30 points, while Andrew Romero hit that same mark for the fourth time this season with 33 points in the win over the Gents.

Schreiner (5-8, 1-3) jumped into SCAC play over the break, posting a 1-3 mark with a win over Johnson & Wales on the road. Against the Wildcats, Schreiner got a season-best 29 points from the free throw line. The Mountaineers also picked up a pair of non-conference win against Hardin-Simmons and McMurry. Paul Wells paced Schreiner averaging 12 points a game over the last six, including scoring double digits in four of the six contests.

Southwestern (7-6, 4-0) is off to a 4-0 start in SCAC play for the first time since the 2004-05 season and sits alone atop the league standings as the only remaining unbeaten team in league play. The Pirates defeated Centenary on the road to close out 2018 behind a season-high 27 points from Brandon Alexander and then returned home to open the new year by beating Schreiner thanks in part to a season-best 24 made team free throws. Southwestern has now won two straight and four of its last five.

Texas Lutheran (8-6, 3-2) posted an impressive 4-1 record during the break, including a 2-1 mark in SCAC play with victories over Schreiner and Trinity. Harris Jowell averaged 11.2 points per game and was big on the glass, grabbing a career-high 15 rebounds in a non-conference win over Hardin-Simmons and 12 more in the conference win over the TU Tigers. TLU has now won five of six and seven of the last 10.

Trinity (2-11, 2-2) opened the SCAC portion of its schedule with wins against Austin College and Centenary, starting 2-0 for the first time since the 2013-14 season. Danny Rivara averaged 15 points a game over the break, including 16 points in the win over the 'Roos and 14 points in the win over the Gents to lead the Tigers.

SCAC action continues this week, with one game scheduled Tuesday, two on Friday and three Saturday.

For links to box scores and recaps from all of last week's season-opening action, click below:

This Week's Leaders:

Points/game (28.0): Andrew Romero III, Johnson & Wales (Denver)
Rebounds/game (9.5): Paul Wells, Schreiner
Assists/game (5.0): Kyle Howard, Southwestern
Steals/game (2.5): Jontrell Herman, Johnson & Wales (Denver)
Blocks/game (2.0): CooXooEii Black, Colorado College
*FG percentage (61.0): CooXooEii Black, Colorado College (25-41)
+FT percentage (100.0): Alex Cage, Texas Lutheran (16-16); Devin Martinez, Colorado College (15-15); Dakota Patton, Johnson & Wales (Denver) (10-10)
#3FG percentage (54.5):Logan Fruhwirth, Dallas (12-22)

*minimum of 4 FGs made per game
+minimum of 2.5 FTs made per game
#minimum of 1.5 3FGs made per game

This Week's Results:

Date	Away		Home		Status	Links
December
Tue. 18	Southwestern (Tex.)	92	Texas-Tyler	99	Final - OT	Recap Box Score
	Trinity (Tex.) *	75	Austin College	71	Final	Recap Recap Box Score Video
	Dallas *	39	Centenary (La.)	57	Final	Recap Recap Box Score Photos Photos Video
	Schreiner *	45	Texas Lutheran	68	Final	Box Score Video
Wed. 19	Austin College *	66	Dallas	61	Final	Recap Recap Box Score Video
	Trinity (Tex.) *	67	Centenary (La.)	62	Final	Recap Recap Box Score Video
Thu. 20	McMurry	59	Texas Lutheran	72	Final	Box Score
	Hardin-Simmons	69	Schreiner	80	Final	Recap Box Score
Fri. 21	Austin College	58	Texas-Dallas	82	Final	Recap Box Score Video
	McMurry	73	Schreiner	84	Final	Box Score Video
	Hardin-Simmons	74	Texas Lutheran	75	Final	Recap Box Score
Sat. 29	Aurora	72	Trinity (Tex.)	68	Final	Recap Box Score Photos
	Schreiner *	77	JWU (Denver)	72	Final	Recap Box Score Video
	Dallas *	90	Colorado College	84	Final	Recap Recap Box Score Video
	Southwestern (Tex.) *	80	Centenary (La.)	69	Final	Recap Recap Box Score Video
Sun. 30	Texas Lutheran *	69	Centenary (La.)	89	Final	Recap Box Score Video
	Dallas *	69	JWU (Denver)	66	Final	Recap Recap Box Score Video
	Schreiner *	79	Colorado College	86	Final	Recap Box Score Video
Mon. 31	Sul Ross St.	82	Trinity (Tex.)	72	Final	Recap Box Score Photos

January
Fri. 4	Trinity (Tex.) *	64	Dallas	73	Final	Recap Recap Box Score Video
	Schreiner *	65	Southwestern (Tex.)	68	Final	Recap Box Score
	Centenary (La.) *	74	Colorado College	49	Final	Recap Box Score Video
	Austin College *	88	JWU (Denver)	95	Final	Recap Recap Box Score Photos Video
Sat. 5	Centenary (La.) *	67	JWU (Denver)	77	Final	Recap Recap Box Score Photos Video
	Texas Lutheran *	64	Trinity (Tex.)	54	Final	Recap Box Score Photos Video
	Austin College *	80	Colorado College	73	Final	Recap Box Score Video