SAN ANTONIO – Trinity University Men's Basketball continues Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference competition this weekend with visits to University of Dallas and Austin College Friday and Saturday night, respectively.
The Tigers (9-4, 2-2 SCAC) swept its recent four-game homestand as they took down Geneva College (PA), 78-63, and University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, 84-63, in the 2022 Leslie Robinson Christmas Classic before taking down Schreiner University, 86-73, and Colorado College, 64-58, on either side of New Year's Day.
Trinity opened SCAC play on the road in early December with losses at Centenary College (LA) and University of St. Thomas after sweeping McMurry University and Hardin-Simmons University in the 2022 Leslie Robinson Thanksgiving Classic.
This weekend's northbound trip opens a four-game SCAC road trip as Trinity will visit Texas Lutheran University (Jan. 13) and Southwestern University (Jan. 14) the following weekend before returning to the Bell Center for the start of the second round-robin of the 2022-23 league slate.
Weekend Preview: Dallas (Jan. 6), Austin (Jan. 7)
Trinity leads the SCAC in scoring (78.1 points per game), defensive rebounding (29.38 per game) and steals (10.1 per game). The Tigers have scored 83 points or more in seven of their 11 contests this season and have earned double-digit margins in five of nine victories, collected 35 or more defensive rebounds three times—all in victories—and collected double-digit steals in eight of 13 games.
On the season, four Tigers average double-figures in scoring, though nine different players have reached double-digits in at least one contest this season. Sophomore
Jacob Harvey (Huffman, Texas / Hargrave) leads three players to have reached the 20-point threshold in a contest with three such outings including his first career 30-point performance against UW-Stevens Point.
On top of being one of the three 20-point performers this season, senior
AJ Clark (San Antonio, Texas / Johnson) leads the Tigers with 6.9 rebounds per game and 3.8 assists per game, the latter leads the SCAC. Clark is also runner-up on the Trinity roster in scoring average (13.4), steals (17) and blocks (7) with three in Monday's victory over Colorado College.
Alongside Harvey and Clark, first-year
Zach Fenn (Covington, La. / Saint Paul's) registers nationally in NCAA III statistically as the Tiger rookie leads the team with 2.23 steals per game, doing so while averaging just shy of 11 minutes per contest this season.
On the Crusaders: Friday night's battle with Dallas will feature its host with a 4-8 record overall this season, still awaiting its first SCAC victory through five league contests thus far. Trinity holds a 15-7 record over the Crusaders since the start of the 2010-11 campaign, and has won its last three meetings.
Dallas is led across the board statistically by junior forward Jack Boyle, the Crusaders' per-game leader in points (17.2), rebounds (12.3), assists (3.3) and blocks (1.9). Boyle ranks fourth in NCAA III with nine double-doubles this season as he averages a double-double over 12 contests.
On the Kangaroos: Austin will battle Schreiner Friday night holding a 5-8 record, 1-4 in SCAC play before hosting Trinity Saturday evening. The 'Roos opened SCAC play with a 71-53 mark over Southwestern on December 2, but have since struggled against league competition. Since the start of the 2009-10 season, Trinity holds a 21-6 series record over Austin, including a five-game streak.
Sophomore guard Jackson Rennie leads the Kangaroos as the only double-digit scorer on average at 12.3 points per game while only averaging 18.6 minutes per contest. Rennie ranks 23
rd in NCAA III with 92 attempts from beyond the arc this season though only averages 34.8 percent from outside. Rennie has posted three 20-point games this season, twice in SCAC matchups.
Down the Road…
Trinity Men's Basketball will remain on the road for Texas Lutheran and Southwestern next weekend before returning to Calgaard Gym for the start of the second tour through the SCAC schedule, hosting Centenary (Jan. 20) and St. Thomas (Jan. 21).
The Tigers will host the remainder of its current schedule starting February 10 through the 2023 Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference Championship tournament February 24-26.
