Monday, February 22, 2010

Next Stop, Jackson!

With an embarrassing loss at home in December, our guys really wanted to get back at Southwestern this past Friday on their home court. The Pirates were having their senior-tribute night and to make things more exciting, it was their "Black Out Night." It was a great atmosphere and a very exciting game. Both teams gave full effort and energy, despite poor shooting. Luckily, we were able to scrap our way to a HUGE victory, thanks to great offensive performances by junior forward Luke Caldarera (21 pts - 8-10 from the FT line) and senior guard Bryant Wilson (18 pts - 4-7 from the 3pt line).

Not only was this win big because it was against a rival, but it was even bigger because it launched our team from a potential #4 seed to the #2 seed in this weekend's SCAC Tournament. This matches us up against Oglethorpe on Friday at 3 p.m.

Check out the SCAC Website for tournament information.

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

SCAC Weekend Wrap Up

The last three weekends could turn any coach's hair grey. After dropping Friday nights game in Sherman, TX against Austin College, we entered into a must-win game against Colorado College up in Colorado Springs, CO. If we lost, there was a slim-to-none chance that we would make the SCAC tournament, but if we won, we clinched a seed. We jumped out to an early lead and held it for most of the game, but Colorado's Nick Rose (leading scorer in the SCAC at 21 ppg!) kept hitting tough shot after tough shot to slowly get them back in the game. Luckily, we were able to hold on to a one point victory and pull out the victory. Our guys fought extremely hard and played with an enormous amount of energy, even with the tough travel.

The Austin College/Colorado College weekend is always the toughest in regards to traveling. This year was especially tough! With a record amount of snowfall in Dallas on Thursday (the day we happened to be trying to fly through Dallas), we ended up having to bus up to Sherman due to flight cancellations. What usually is a 5 hour bus ride, took near 12 hours with roads being closed and everything else that happens when it snows in Texas! (I'm not sure if anyone in Texas really knows how to drive in snow - myself included!) Luckily, we got to all of our destinations safely and were even able to come away with a SCAC tournament clinching victory!

Monday, February 8, 2010

SCAC Weekend Wrap Up



Another great weekend for the Tigers, with two must-win games at home. Friday night's game against Hendrix College was a perfect example of "always be ready if you're number is called." In this case, it was junior forward Sam Dworkin's number. Sam hasn't had a lot of minutes this season, but that didn't keep him from being a key reason why the Tigers were able to handle the visiting Warriors. Shooting 7-8 from the field, his game-high 17 points and great energy off the bench spurred the Tigers to a 78-56 victory. His back-to-back three-pointers early in the second half began a great run that broke open a two-point game, with the Tigers never looking back.

Before Sunday's game against Millsaps College, we honored our senior class during our annual "Senior-Day". We came out pretty sloppy, lacking energy in the first half, which turned into a 14 point halftime deficit. Maybe it was the sense of urgency that this was our last home game of the season (and last home game for the seniors' careers!), but our guys turned it up a notch or two during the second half. The guys fought hard and battled all the way to the finish. Plenty of key plays (key defensive possessions, Bryant Wilson three-pointer) built up to the final Trinity offensive possession resulting in an assist by sophomore guard Ryan Beall to senior forward Peter Garatoni's game winning layup with two seconds remaining. (Above is the clip of Garatoni's game winner - special thanks to alums Mitch Walker, '06, and Charles Houston, '09, for the broadcast play-by-play). Luckily, we held on for a one point victory!

With these two wins, the Tigers moved up to third place in the SCAC West Division by 1/2 a game above Colorado College (top 4 teams of each division make SCAC tournament). This weekend the Tigers will travel to Sherman, TX to play Austin College on Friday night and then Colorado Springs, CO to play Colorado College on Saturday night. With only three SCAC games remaining (all on the road), each game becomes more and more important.

Thursday, February 4, 2010

Senior-Day Sunday



With Senior-Day taking place on Sunday's home game against Millsaps, now would be a good time to talk about the great group of guys we have graduating this May. From left to right, we have:

#10 Terrance Blakely - 5'10 Guard - Seattle, WA
Terrance began his career at Trinity by playing on the JV team his freshmen year and working his way up to a very solid role player off the bench for us this year. Very few players have come through Trinity with such a great work ethic outside of practice. Whether it is spending the extra time in the weight room or working on his fundamentals in an empty gym by himself, Terrance's dedication to the game of basketball has been an inspiration. Off the court, Terrance is a member of the Phi Sigma Chi fraternity and a double major in Business Finance and Sociology.

#45 Michael Tobolowsky - 6'4 Guard - Dallas, TX
Michael "Tobo" also began his career at Trinity by playing on the JV team and working his way up to a starting role this season. Every offseason Michael has put in great work to get better for each season. His versatility in being able to play the 3 or 4 position has played a huge part in the Tigers' successes over the past two seasons. Off the court, Michael is a member of the Phi Sigma Chi fraternity, a double major in Business Finance and Marketing and is on pace to graduate cum laude.

#42 Peter Garatoni - 6'5 Forward - San Antonio, TX
Like Michael and Terrance, Peter began his career at Trinity by playing on the JV team and working his way up to a starting role this season. When you think of what type of athlete should be a role-model for Division III athletics, no one would fit better than "Pete". When it comes to basketball, he is a dedicated hard worker that doesn't take a day off in practice. Off the court, Peter is quite possibly the most involved athlete ever to come through Trinity. Not only is he an engineering major (with a math minor) graduating cum laude, but he is an active member in the Trinity Choir, a member of a student led acapella group called the Trinitones, a representative in the student-government for two years, and the President of the Trinity Chapter for the professional engineering organization, AEEE. It's still unknown how he is able to balance everything, but he does with style!

#34 Bryant Wilson - 6'4 Guard - Dallas, TX
Bryant has taken full advantage of his NCAA eligibility over the last five years. Prior to this season, Bryant was the starting quarterback and an all-SCAC performer for the Trinity football team. This fall, Bryant made the decision to come out for the basketball team and has been a great asset this season, starting a majority of our games. He has been an outside threat that defenses have had to keep an eye on, opening up our offense. Off the court, Bryant is a Business Finance major and a member of the Bengal Lancer fraternity.

#21 Bart Taylor - 5'9 Guard - San Antonio, TX
Bart did not start his career at Trinity, but we are glad that he will be finishing it here. Transferring in from Concordia Univeristy, Bart has brought nothing but energy and effort since the day he stepped foot into Sam's Gymnasium. His speed and quickness is rarely matched at the Division III level and has proven to be a vital key the past few seasons for the Tigers, especially this season as he has played the second most minutes on the team. Bart has also been a "crowd favorite" with his creative facial hair over the years - last year's "Stachey Friday" event was heavily inspired by Bart's "70's Stache". Off the court, Bart will earn his degree in Mathematics.

If you have (or have had) the opportunity to get to know this group of seniors, you'll know what a great mix of personalities these guys have brought to Trinity Basketball. Every day is an enjoyable one around these guys, and for that, we thank them. It will be exciting to see how they finish their careers here in the next few weeks!

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

SCAC Weekend Wrap Up



It was a great weekend for the Tigers! Birmingham Southern is still considered a "provisional" member in the SCAC and Division III, meaning they are not able to compete in our conference tournament or the NCAA tournament this year. However, this does not mean they are a push-over team. In fact, they are just the opposite. Their SCAC games still count in conference play and they came into last Friday's game as the top team in the SCAC. It was a defensive battle from the start, and we nearly squandered a 15 point halftime lead; but that's basketball, a game of runs. In overtime, a huge three-pointer by sophomore guard Ryan Beall (video above) and a few huge steals by senior guard Terrance Blakely carried us to the victory. As we are in a tight race to make the SCAC tournament, learning how to win tough games is essential and the BSC game definitely fit that mold.

A main concern when you play back-to-back nights is that your team will have an emotional let-down from a great effort the night before - especially an overtime game. At the start of Saturday night's game against Rhodes, it looked like that was going to be the case. We didn't get off to a very good start, but the Tigers were able to come together and pick up the energy to take a convincing win against a talented Lynx team.

If the Tigers are able to maintain the same energy this weekend, it should make for another exciting two SCAC contests. Hendrix comes to Sam's Gymnasium Friday for an 8 p.m. game with revenge on their mind for the earlier loss to the Tigers in Conway on January 8th. Nick Heathscott had a monster game with 27. He is a tough matchup for the Tigers' inside players.

Sunday's game against Millsaps should be a very hard fought one. We are currently tied for the final SCAC tournament spot in the West Division. It also is our final home game of the season and will be "senior day" in honor of our five seniors.

Be sure to catch both games live on our "Tigers LIVE" tab on the basketball homepage!