Quick Notes

• Trinity International faces a tough non-conference test this week, when the Trojans host the No. 5 Indiana-East Red Wolves on Tuesday night.
• Streaming video and live stats of Tuesday's game can be found at TIUTrojans.com/LIVE
• The Trojans are currently riding a three-game win streak, after an 87-73 road victory over Purdue-Northwest.
• With a win over the Red Wolves, Trinity will record it's 10th victory at the earliest point in any season in program history. The last time the Trojans have earned ten wins before the New Year came in 1995-96
• Trinity boasts the second-highest scoring offense in the CCAC this season, averaging 89.7 points per game. Through four games in league play, TIU has averaged 80.2 points per game, tied for 4th in the CCAC.
• Indiana-East averages 85.2 points per game, and defensively holds opponents to just 73.0 points on average.
• The Red Wolves are 10-1 on the year, and are winners of four straight. IU-East has played two CCAC opponents earlier in the season, defeating Indiana-South Bend and St. Xavier at home on Oct. 31 and Nov. 5, respectively.
• Senior forward Zach Kirschbaum is the NAIA's national leader in rebounding, collecting a total of 147 rebounds through 12 games this season.
• The Las Vegas, Nev. native is also the team's leading scorer, with 18.4 points per game.
• Kirschbaum has posted ten double-doubles over the first 12 games of the season, most in the NAIA, and four more than any other player in the CCAC. He also leads the league in rebounding and blocked shots, with 2.7 per game.
• Grant Corsi is also posting double figures to start the season, with 14.9 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.
• Six players in all are scoring more than eight points per game for the Trojans.
• Through ten games, senior guard Luke Mead leads the Trojan bench with 9.5 points per game, the fourth-highest average on the team. Mead also ranks 2nd on the team in assists, averaging 2.5 per game despite just 16 minutes on the floor per game.
• The Trojans have some of the best defensive statistics in the country this season. Trinity leads the NAIA in blocks (68) and blocks per game (5.7), rank 3rd in turnover margin (+6.6 per game), and total steals (123), and is 7th in steals per game (10.3).
• The Trojans have earned three wins against nationally-ranked opponents thoughout the Boomer Roberts era, and can secure a fourth on Tuesday. Trinity previously upset three ranked teams last season, in No. 14 Olivet Nazarene (Jan. 16), No. 15 Robert Morris (Jan. 20), and No. 19 Robert Morris (Feb. 20).
• 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 night's game will be the second ever between Trinity and Indiana-East.
• The Trojans upset the No. 23 Red Wolves in the previous matchup, 84-75 on Dec. 7, 2012, in a neutral-site game hosted by Taylor (Ind.).
• With a Trojan win on Tuesday, Indiana-East would become the fourth program to be winless against Trinity International in more than one meeting (Benedictine-Mesa, Silver Lake, Emmaus Bible).

Scouting the Opponents

• The 5th-ranked Red Wolves are coming off back-to-back NAIA National Tournament appearances, reaching the national semifinals a year ago.
• The team has recorded 56 total blocks in 11 games, second nationally in the NAIA only to Trinity's 68 blocks.
• On the offensive end, the Red Wolves are 6th in the NAIA with a .427 shooting percentage from three-point range.
• Lucas Huffman leads the team with 16.5 points per game, while forward Aaron Thomas is 8th in the NAIA with 113 rebounds (10.3 per game).

National Rankings

• Senior forward Zach Kirschbaum ranks among the top three players in the NAIA-II, in five different categories.
• Kirschbaum leads all divisions of college basketball with 147 total rebounds. He is 2nd in the NAIA both rebounds per game (12.3) and defensive boards per game (8.6), and ranks 3rd in blocks per game (2.7), and total blocks (32).
• Jeremy and Greg Carlyle rank 11th and 17th in the NAIA respectively, with 23 and 21 total steals on the season.

Trojans in the Polls

• The Trojans debuted at No. 8 in the NCCAA Top 10 Rankings, but fell out of the poll before returning at No. 10 in the latest rankings on Nov. 29.
• 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.
• 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 3rd in the latest conference ratings, released Nov. 28, behind No. 5 St. Francis and Cardinal Stritch.

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 celebrated his 100th game as a Trojan in the win over Waldorf (Iowa) on Nov. 12. The LaGrange, Ill. native played in 34 games as a junior last year, tying the single-season record for total appearances in TIU history. Smith is now four games away from ninth place on the all-time games played list.

Up Next

• The Trojans play host to the Calumet St. Joseph Crimson Wave on Saturday, December 10, beginning at 3:00 p.m.
• Trinity will then hit the road a week from Saturday, when they take on CCAC newcomers Governors State for the first time, on Saturday December 17.