MBB: Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference

[Ron Boerger]

Trinity eased past UMHB tonight, 81-71.  TU led by 16 at the half, UMHB closed to within 3 but could not get over the hump.  Looked like a very physical game with 76 free throws awarded (pretty evenly) to the two teams. 

I was supposed to be at the game but my wife didn't get done packing until it was too late.   

[pbrooks3]

I think Trinity is going to be the real deal this year. Granted they've play all of their early season games at home against some tough competition, but I sense Coach Cunningham has the makings of a special team here.

[Walter17]

I would agree with you there pbrooks.  It will be interesting to see how Trinity fairs on the road.  With two more home games this weekend (Olivet tomorrow on Thanksgiving night and Whitman on Saturday), they should have quite the confidence entering into SCAC play at Colorado next weekend.

[pbrooks3]

Blessings to everyone who posts this Thanksgiving season.

[Ron Boerger]

I was one of the 118 who got to see Trinity defeat Olivet in OT last night, 63-61.  Both teams played as if they had a turkey hangover.  Trinity rushed out to a 14-2 lead as Olivet couldn't find the basket, but the Comets found their sea legs and started to hit their shots, held a narrow lead at the half which they extended to as many as nine in the second.  The game was pretty sloppy with lots of turnovers, travelling and palming (! - they could call that every time down the court) calls.  Trinity had a huge advantage at the free throw line (24-5, Olivet never got in the bonus) but managed to miss a lot of them in regulation. 

They were playing in the inaugural "Trip Sports Shootout," eight men's and eight women's teams, but it's not a championship, each team gets a couple of games.  There were D3 and NAIA teams, but schools only played teams in their own affilliation.  Teams from MI, OH, IN (the DePauw women made the trip), WI, CA, OK, and of course TX were in attendance.

There's live video, but it's $8 a head.  Trinity will play Webster on Saturday, Webster and Olivet match up tonight. 

[Walter17]

You nailed it on the head Ron - "Turkey hangover."  Both teams looked lethargic, which showed by both teams shooting under the 40% mark.  It wasn't the greatest of games for Trinity, but it adds another one to the W column.

Olivet will play Whitman from WA tonight and Trinity will play Whitman tomorrow.

[pbrooks3]

Arrived in time to catch the beginning of the 2nd half of the Principia & Rhodes game. It's a laugher with 15 minutes to go. Rhodes is up 67-33. Cory Smith has 13. Not much of a game - seems as if the post-turkey has set in.

[Ron Boerger]

Trinity started slow but came from seven down early in the second half to claim a 71-61 victory over Whitman (CA).   Charles Houston led the way with 19 points on 9-11 shooting (but 1-4 FTs) plus 11 boards.  Luke Caldarera came off the bench to add 13 and Patrick Robinson had 10 as Coach Cunningham emptied the bench after the team built a 17-point lead late.  Whitman's Chris Faidley led all scorers with 22.

Trinity only shot 38% but outrebounded Whitman 41-34 and forced 27 turnovers, losing 14 of their own.    The Tigers start SCAC play this week with games at Colorado College and Austin College. 

[FlightofthePetrel]

Oglethorpe tops Murvull  77-75

Didn't see the game but read about it on the OU Website.  Sophmorer Todd Ward knocks down a turn around jumper at the foul line with 1.2 seconds left to give the Petrels the win.

Here's an summary from the game writeup that sums it up pretty well.

"A win for the Petrels looked to be in doubt for most of the evening as the Scots raced to a 38-34 halftime lead. They widened the lead all the way up to 14 at 58-44 with 14 minutes remaining in the game. From there, however, the Petrels used a decisive 17-3 run to tie the score at 61 at set the stage for a furious final 5 minutes.

Oglethorpe was able to keep their poise down the stretch to earn the hard fought victory over the Scots. During the closing moments, the Petrels got critical 3-point jump shots from Joe Kennedy, Alex Richey and David Allison to preserve the victory.

It was Allison who elevated from 23 feet right in front of Oglethorpe's bench to knock down a deadly 3-pointer with only 37 seconds remaining to lift Oglethorpe to a 75-72 advantage. On the ensuing possession, however, Scots freshman Jordan Damron tied the game with a 3-pointer of his own from the top of the key.

Tied at 75 with only 12 ticks left, head coach Phil Ponder called timeout and gave the Petrels some final instructions before sending the team back out on the court. The plan: feed sophomore Todd Ward in the high post and give him a chance to either shoot or kick out to an open shooter.

The plan worked brilliantly as Ward cleared out on the left side, drove to the foul line extended and hit a turnaround jumper from 16 feet with only 1.2 seconds left to lift Oglethorpe to the victory.

For the night, Ward recorded 20 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists to lead all 5 Oglethorpe starters in double-figures. Alex Richey had 13 points and 7 rebounds, Joe Kennedy and David Allison each netted 12 points and Wade Weldon notched 11 to round out the leading scorers."

Again OU had all 5 starters in double figures... I'm starting to see that this team is VERY balanced and can hurt you from many different areas.  They return to action today against Lagrange at 4.

[pbrooks3]

If there is such a thing a being a sleeper this year, Coach Ponder's squad might be it.  A good victory last night for OU. Centre and OU look pretty similar starting out.  Can't wait til we see some true SCAC tilts this coming weekend.

[frank_ezelle]

Millsaps got their first win of the season today with a 92-79 victory over Rust College.  Five players scored in double-figures as the Majors poured in 18 of 32 from behind the arc.  Here are links to a story and the box score:

Story:  http://www.millsaps.edu/athletic/basketball-m/113008release.shtml

Box Score:  http://www.millsaps.edu/athletic/basketball-m/mcm08-05.htm

[Walter17]

Not a bad start for the SCAC.  What are some interesting matchups this weekend as we start conference play?

I think Trinity should handle both Colorado College and Austin College this weekend.  But we all know that you can't count any team out come conference time, especially when Trinity is playing on the road.  I'm expecting two very competitive games this weekend. 

Also, Charles Houston seems to be starting off with monster numbers; 3 double doubles and averaging 15.3 ppg and 12 reb/game.  Obviously, those numbers may drop over the course of a season, but they are still impressive in Trinity's 4-1 start.

Any other noteworthy individual performances thus far?

[pbrooks3]

Centre will be hosting their 2nd game of the season tonight against Berea College from the NAIA ranks.  Berea should be competitive in this game.  They've got some length in the middle and usually have some decent guards.  Berea gave Centre fits last season when they played after Christmas at Danville.  Centre prevailed, but it was a close game and the Colonels pulled it out in OT.  No audio, video or live stats on this one.

[pbrooks3]

Centre had a rather easy time of it tonight against Berea taking control early in the 2nd half. Coach Mason got to play a lot of his freshmen. Backup senior guard, Kris Bentley had a nice game scoring 11 with 3 triples, 3 assists and only 1 turnover. The Pikeville native can be a key contributor to this squad's success this season spelling the other guards.

[jekelish]

Austin College got past Dallas Christian easily, winning by 21 in a game that could have (and probably should have) been more like a 30-35 point margin.  The refs only called nine fouls in the entire first half, and then whistled AC for nine fouls in the first five minutes of the second half, which really killed any attempt to establish momentum and build on their lead.  It just sort of disrupted the flow of the game.

Alade and freshman Scott Straley each scored 14 for Austin College.  Alade and Kyle Lintelman each had five assists.  The 'Roos got solid contributions from several players.  Josh Saunders had 10 boards and showed some great court vision.  Austin College had 10 blocks as a team, with Sturtevant and Saunders getting three apiece.

The real fun starts this weekend of course, when AC meets Southwestern in a rematch of the "coin flip game" and then gets a big test against Trinity.