San Antonio, TEXAS – The Trinity men's basketball team (19-5, 11-2 SAA) will close out the regular season this Saturday, Feb. 21, at Southwestern University (12-12, 6-7 SAA). Having already wrapped up the No. 2 seed in the SAA — assuming Rhodes College wins out — this weekend's matchup with the Pirates shouldn't have an effect on seeding, but will be another opportunity for the Tigers to build momentum as they barrel towards the SAA Championships.
 
Last Time Out
 
Trinity secured a 73-68 win against Berry College on Feb. 15 with solid all-around play that saw the Tigers shoot 50% from the field and 40% from three, while giving up just 9 turnovers. After a 21-point win over the Vikings at home earlier this season, it was their poor shooting from the free-throw line that prevented another blowout, hitting just 36% of their shots from the charity stripe. Zach Fenn led the offensive attack with 15 points, 4 rebounds, 4 assists and 2 steals on 67% shooting from the field, while Will Bronson recorded his fourth straight double-double with 13 points, 10 rebounds, 3 assists, 2 blocks and 1 steal on 60% shooting.
 
Preview - The Battle of I-35
 
On the Southwestern Pirates: The Pirates have been playing solid basketball as the regular season winds down, coming off a narrow loss to top-ranked Rhodes and two straight wins against Berry and Oglethorpe. In their last game, a 90-81 defeat of Oglethorpe, they outshot the Stormy Petrels from all levels of the floor, but their big advantage came on the glass, where they grabbed 15 more rebounds to make up for their turnover deficit, having given the ball up 12 times to Oglethorpe's 6. They were suffocated by Trinity in their first matchup this season, outshot by 16% and facing a 15-rebound deficit on the glass. As it was in their previous meeting, look for the paint battle to define the game once again.
 
Senior guard Shobby Enakpene leads Southwestern this year, averaging 17.7 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.5 assists and 1.0 steals on 43% shooting from the field and 35% from deep. He struggled against the Tigers in January, limited to just 7 points, 4 rebounds and 3 assists on 17% (2-12) shooting. Sophomore guard Aedan Lewis has been the offensive commander for the Pirates recently, averaging 22.0 points, 9.5 rebounds on 62% shooting over the last five games. He also scored just 7 points against Trinity, but his role and impact have grown considerably since, providing a new factor for the Tigers to pay attention to.
 
Looking Ahead 
 
The SAA Championships will begin on Feb. 26, although the Tigers won't begin play until Feb. 27 after securing a first-round bye. Assuming Rhodes wins out, they'll play the winner of the No. 3 seed vs. No. 6 seed matchup. Currently, the 3 and 6 seeds are held by Centre College and Sewanee, respectively, but the battle for positioning over the final weekend of SAA competition will likely shake things up considerably.