Quick Notes

• Trinity International steps back into CCAC this Saturday, when they host the Calumet St. Joseph Crimson Wave beginning at 3:00 p.m.
• Streaming video and live stats of Saturday's game can be found at TIUTrojans.com/LIVE
• The Trojans became the first CCAC team to reach 10 wins this year, following an upset victory over No. 5 Indiana-East on Tuesday night, 84-73.
• If the Trojans earn a win over the Crimson Wave on Saturday, they will match their season-long winning streak of five straight games.
• Trinity boasts the second-highest scoring offense in the CCAC this season, averaging 89.2 points per game. Through four games in league play, TIU has averaged 80.2 points per game, tied for 4th in the CCAC.
• Calumet St. Joseph ranks 12th in the CCAC, averaging 74.1 points per game. Both the Crimson Wave and Trojans are in the middle of the back defensively, as Trinity allows 76.9 points per game (8th in CCAC), and Calumet surrenders 78.4 points per game (10th in CCAC).
• Senior forward Zach Kirschbaum leads all divisions of NCAA or NAIA college basketball in rebounding, collecting a total of 162 rebounds through 13 games this season.
• The Las Vegas, Nev. native is also the team's leading scorer, with 18.4 points per game.
• Kirschbaum has posted 11 double-doubles over the first 13 games of the season, most in the NAIA, and five 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 scoring double figures to start the season, with 14.0 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 10.9 points per game, and is shooting 46.2% from three-point range, ranking 7th in the CCAC.
• Through 13 games, senior guard Luke Mead leads the Trojan bench with 10.1 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 16.6 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 (73) and blocks per game (5.6), rank 3rd in total steals (131), 5th in turnover margin (+6.1 per game), and is 7th in steals per game (10.1).
• 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

• Saturday's game will be the 28th meeting with the Crimson Wave since the 2003-04 season.
• Calumet St. Joseph is one of the longest-standing rivals for the Trojans, and is one of just four programs that TIU has faced off against in every season since 2003-04, along with Cardinal Stritch (31 meetings), Judson, (29), Trinity Christian (28), and St. Xavier (18).

Scouting the Opponents

• The Crimson Wave are off to a 3-6 start to the season, and are 2-3 in league play after finishing 5th in the conference a year ago.
• Forward Darrick Scott leads the team with 12.1 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Scott ranks 23rd in the NAIA with 3.1 offensive rebounds 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 162 total rebounds. He is 2nd in the NAIA in rebounds per game (12.5), defensive rebounds per game (8.9), and blocks per game (2.7). He currently sits 3rd in the nation with 32 total blocks.
• Jeremy and Greg Carlyle rank 8th and 32nd in the NAIA respectively, with 26 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 to the No. 8 spot in the latest rankings on Dec. 6.
• 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. 18 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 three games away from ninth place on the all-time games played list.

Up Next

• Trinity hits the road a week from Saturday, when they take on CCAC newcomers Governors State for the first time, on December 17.
• Trinity will then returns home for the final time in 2016, when they host the Holy Cross Saints on Tuesday, December 20 for a 2 p.m. tipoff.