For the first time this season, both the men and women were undefeated in a weekend of two Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference games, as both of the teams earned wins over Austin College and the University of Dallas at home.
Friday, Feb. 13, the women beat Austin College 74-68.
Senior guard Hannah Coley returned to the lineup after being out the past three weeks with a high ankle sprain, and broke the school record for the most three-pointers made in a career (179) previously held by Murphy Burns (2010-2014).
“It’s always nice having Hannah on the court”¦She didn’t expect to get much play time, but she got a lot and I think it was good for her and the team,” said junior forward Anecia Richardson.
Austin College led 34-22 with three minutes and ten seconds left in the first half. The Tigers went on a 12-0 run to close the half and tie the game at 34 points.
In the final minutes of the game, Coley broke the 61-61 tie with her record-breaking three-pointer. That three sparked a 9-0 Tiger run, which helped secure the win.
Richardson led the Tigers in points with 17. Senior forward Taylor Hollins came off the bench and added 16 points in 19 minutes of action.
Junior forward Bryony Harris led the team in rebounds with 10, and had seven points, three steals and three assists.
The men snapped a four-game losing streak Friday night with a 55-41 win over Austin College.
The Tigers shot 34 percent, while the Roos shot 27.6 percent from the field. Neither team scored until the 17:35 mark in the first half.
The Tigers went on a 13-1 run midway through the first half that included a dunk, a long three-point shot and an alley-oop that extended the Tiger lead. They held a 24-17 lead at halftime.
“Playing at home is always a big advantage for a team,” said senior guard Matt Selling. “Playing in front of our fans gives us more energy.”
The Tigers were successful driving into the lane and getting the free-throw line in the second half””15-21 from the line””that helped keep the game out of reach.
Selling led all scorers with 14 points, while first-year guard Brian Blum scored 11 points off the bench.
Saturday, Feb. 14″”in the women’s SCAC game of the week””Trinity took down Dallas 66-39.
The Tigers opened the game scoring 13 straight points, and had a 29-5 lead within the first 10 minutes of action. By halftime they led 47-19.
Defense came up big. They held Dallas to 12 made field goals the entire and 25.5 percent shooting.
“We have been focusing on our defense because our scoring hasn’t been great this year, but when our offense and defense come together on the same night, games usually work out really well for us,” Richardson said.
Richardson was the only Tiger in double figures with 10 points. Hollins came off the bench and scored eight points, and first-year guard Rebecca Gordon added seven.
The men earned their first weekend sweep in conference play after beating Dallas 80-73.
“It’s nice for things to come together, so that they have some proof to say “˜OK if we continue playing this way, we’re going to have a chance,'” said men’s assistant coach Ross Burt. “We could have easily had letdowns this past weekend””effort-wise””but I think they gave it even more effort.
The Tigers opened the game with eight unanswered points, and led by as many as 13 points in the first half.
Dallas battled back, but Trinity took the 32-25 lead into halftime.
With one minute fifty-seven seconds left in the game, Dallas had cut the lead to six points. The Tigers””hit eight out of 10 free-throws in the final 62 seconds to seal the win.
Selling and senior guard Craig Salterelli led the Tigers with 21 points each. Selling hit 8-16 from the field and 4-7 from three. Saltarelli hit 7-13 from the field and 4-8 from three.
“My shot was feeling good, but Saturday was all about my teammates creating those open shots for me,” Selling said.
First-year guard Matt Jones and sophomore forward A.J. Pulliam were also in double figures for the Tigers with 13 and 11 points, respectively.
With the wins this weekend, the women are now 19-5 overall, 10-3 in conference, and the men improve to 4-20 overall, 3-10 in conference.
Both teams close out the regular SCAC season with games at 4 p.m. (women) and 6 p.m. (men) Saturday, Feb. 21, against Schreiner University at home.
