No. 9 Tiger Men's Basketball takes a trip to California to take on Pomona-Pitzer and Claremont-Mudd-Scripps this weekend.
Last time out, the Tigers (3-0) defeated the University of Wisconsin-Superior 84-76.
Christian Green (San Antonio, Texas / Veterans Memorial) led the Tigers with his second double-double of the season. Green totaled 22 points and 14 rebounds.
Dean Balo (Dallas, Texas / JJ Pearce) notched a career-high in points with 23.
Jacob Harvey (Huffman, Texas / Hargrave) also reached double digit points with 15, taking his career point total to over 1,000. Green, Harvey, and Balo have all scored over 10 points in every contest this season.
D3hoops.com National Rankings - Tigers at 9
In the latest D3hoops.com national poll, the Tigers are ranked 9th. Trine holds the top spot, followed by WashU in second place. Emory, Illinois Wesleyan, and Trinity (Conn.) complete the top five. The teams ranked just ahead of the Tigers are UW-Platteville, Keene State, and Tufts.
Trinity is the only SCAC program ranked in the top 25, highlighting their dominance within the conference. St. Thomas, another SCAC member, is receiving votes, showcasing their potential to break into the national rankings.
Preview - Californication
The Tigers will start their trip to Claremont, California against Pomona-Pitzer Colleges on Friday, November 29th at 5:00 PM (PT). Then, the following day, Trinity will take on Claremont-Mudd-Scripps at 5:00 PM (PT). This will be the first time that the Tigers have traveled to California since the 2014-15 season, where they played both Pomona and Claremont.
On the Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens: The Sagehens are off to a strong 3-1 start to the season. They opened with a blowout win over Nobel University and followed it up with a thrilling 101-95 victory against UC-Santa Cruz. After a tough 55-44 loss to Lewis & Clark in a defensive battle, Pomona-Pitzer bounced back with a commanding 95-59 win over La Sierra.
The Sagehens will lean heavily on their standout 6-foot-6 guard, Joe Cookson, who is averaging over 20 points per game. Cookson poses a dual threat as he can hurt you in the paint and behind the arc. As a team, Pomona-Pitzer is shooting 40% from three-point range and 45% overall from the field.
The last time these two teams faced off, Trinity secured a dominant 83-62 victory, fueled by
Jacob Harvey's career-high 33 points. The Tigers' defense also managed to limit Cookson to just 11 points on 3-11 shooting. Historically, Pomona-Pitzer holds a narrow edge in the series, with the Tigers trailing 3-5 all-time.
On the Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags: The Stags are off to a 3-2 start this season. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps (CMS) began their campaign with back-to-back wins over Linfield and Pacific Lutheran but stumbled with consecutive losses to Puget Sound and UC-Santa Cruz. However, CMS rebounded in their most recent outing with a convincing 68-50 victory over Whitman College. The Stags are averaging around 70 points per game while shooting a solid 43% from the field and 35% from beyond the arc. Graduate forward AJ Rohosy has been a key contributor, leading the team with 15.4 points and 6.8 rebounds per game. In their previous matchup, Trinity defeated CMS 74-64, shooting an impressive 49% from the field. Historically, the Tigers trail CMS 2-4 all-time.
Looking Ahead
The Tigers will be on the road against Hardin-Simmons on December 10th before playing in their first home games against Illinois College and Wisconsin Lutheran on December 20th and 21st.
