Quick Notes

• Trinity International can finish 2016 on a seven-game winning streak with a victory Tuesday afternoon, when the Trojans host Holy Cross.
• Streaming video and live stats of Tuesday's game can be found at TIUTrojans.com/LIVE
• The Trojans became the first CCAC team to reach 12 wins this year, after surviving an 81-80 road win at Governors State on Saturday. The Jaguars took a lead with seven seconds to play before a pair of free throws from Jeremy Carlyle put the Trojans back on top in the closing moments.
• If the Trojans earn a win over the Saints on Tuesday, they will record their longest winning streak since Dec. 20-Jan. 28 of the 2014-15 season, when Trinity claimed ten in a row.
• The Trojans rank 2nd in the CCAC, averaging 88.8 points per game. Holy Cross has the conference's 9th-ranked offense, with 76.5 points per game.
• Defensively, Holy Cross is 2nd in the league, with 72.0 points allowed per game. The Trojans rank 7th on the defensive end, allowing 77.1 points on average.
• Senior forward Zach Kirschbaum leads all divisions of NCAA or NAIA college basketball in rebounding, collecting a total of 189 rebounds through 15 games this season.
• The Las Vegas, Nev. native is also leads all of NAIA-II with an average of 9.2 defensive rebounds per game.
• Kirschbaum has posted 13 double-doubles this season, most in the NAIA, and five more than any other player in the CCAC. He also leads the league in rebounding (12.6 per game) and blocked shots, (2.9 per game).
• Grant Corsi is also scoring double figures season, with 13.9 points per game. In the Trojans' win over Judson on Nov. 22, Corsi recorded his first career double-double, collecting 19 points and a career-high 10 rebounds.
• Sophomore Jeremy Carlyle is averaging 11.5 points per game, and is shooting 44.3% from three-point range, ranking 8th in the CCAC.
• Through 15 games, senior guard Luke Mead leads the Trojan bench with 10.7 points per game, the fourth-highest average on the team. Mead also ranks 2nd on the team in assists, averaging 2.7 per game.
• Trinity has seen two players take the last two CCAC Player of the Week awards, in Zach Kirschbaum and Jeremy Carlyle. Kirschbaum was named Player of the Week on Dec. 6, after averaging 20 points and 14.5 rebounds in wins over Roosevelt and Purdue-Northwest. Carlyle was honored after leading the Trojans in scoring during their wins over No. 5 Indiana-East and Calumet St. Joseph.
• The Trojans have some of the best defensive statistics in the country this season. Trinity leads the NAIA in blocks (85), ranks 3rd in blocks per game (5.7), 6th in total steals (144), and 7th in turnover margin (+4.7 per game).
• Trinity is coming off of their first 20-win season in 17 years, and return four of five starters from a year ago.
• Last season, the Trojans reached the NCCAA National Semifinal, in their first NCCAA Tournament appearance since 1999. TIU finished 4th overall in the eight-team tournament after coming in as the No. 6 seed.

Series History
• Tuesday marks the 12th meeting all-time between Trinity and Holy Cross.
• The Saints hold a 6-5 record against the Trojans, taking a lead in the series for the first time after last season's 78-67 win on Dec. 9.

Last Time Out vs. Holy Cross
• Freshman guard Jeremy Carlyle led the way with a career-high 32 points, but a second half run put the host Holy Cross Saints in front, as Trinity International suffered a 78-67 defeat on Dec. 9, 2015.
• Trinity tied the game in the second half, when Carlyle hit a three-pointer with 15:05 remaining, 39-39. Caleb Kelley put TIU back in front with a three-point play to make it a 42-41 score, but the Saints would score five unanswered to move back in front with 13:13 to play. The Trojans tied the game twice the rest of the way, both times on threes from Carlyle, but were unable to reclaim the lead, as the Saints earned their second win over TIU in their last two meetings in the Pfeil Center.

Scouting the Opponents
• The Saints come to Deerfield following a pair of wins over CCAC North Division opponents Judson and St. Ambrose.
• Ja'Mare Washington ranks 3rd in the NAIA with 4.6 offensive rebounds per game. As a team, the Saints limit their opponents to just 31.5 rebounds per game, 6th-lowest in the NAIA.
• Ryan Lutz leads the team in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game.

Trojans in the Polls
• Trinity recieved 65 votes in the latest NAIA Division II Coaches Poll, released on Dec. 13, coming up just three votes shy of cracking the Top 25.
• Trinity International has appeared in the NAIA Division II Coaches Poll 21 times in program history, but not since the 1997-98 campaign.
• The Trojans' last NAIA ranking came on Jan. 6, 1998, when the TIU came in at No. 20.
• The highest ranking in program history was during the 1995-96 season, when Trinity was at No. 3 in the Jan. 22, 1996 poll.
• The Trojans sit at No. 8 in the latest NCCAA National Rankings, which came out on Dec. 13. Trinity has been ranked No. 8 in three of the first five polls this season, beginning with the opening poll on Nov. 15.
• This season, the Trojans placed 4th in the CCAC preseason ratings, with all three programs rated above Trinity earning spots in the NAIA Preseason Coaches Poll.
• Trinity ranks 2nd in the latest conference ratings, released Dec. 12, behind No. 19 St. Francis.

National Rankings
• Senior forward Zach Kirschbaum ranks either first or second in the NAIA-II, in five different categories.
• Kirschbaum leads all divisions of college basketball with 189 total rebounds. He also leads the NAIA with 9.2 defensive boards per game, and is 2nd in rebounds per game (12.6), blocks per game (2.9) and 4th in total blocks (43).
• Freshman guard Will Davidson is 11th in the NAIA with a 3.67 assist-to-turnover ratio. Davidson has 11 assists while averaging just 5.3 minutes on the floor this season.

Record Books
• On Nov. 11, Trinity posted 126 points in their Trojan Classic victory over Silver Lake (Wisc.). The performance was one point shy of the all-time program record of 127 points scored in a single game. (Feb. 14, 1996 at Rockford [Ill.])
• As a team the Trojans combined for 25 made three-pointers against the Lakers, setting a new CCAC single-game record.
• The 25 threes also goes down as the second-highest number of three-point field goals in a single game in NAIA history.
• With two blocks against St. Xavier on Nov. 16, Zach Kirschbaum moved into fourth place on Trinity International's all-time blocked shots list. Kirschbaum surpassed Cameron Burkett's (2003-05) 62 blocks for the No. 4 spot on the list.
• Senior Sean Smith will move into a tie for 9th all-time in Trinity history when he makes his 110th career appearance on Tuesday, tying his former teammates Justin Peeples and Nate Ball (2011-15).

Up Next
• The Trojans return from Christmas break on Tuesday, January 3rd, when they host St. Ambrose at 7:30 p.m.