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No. 6 TRINITY INTERNATIONAL TROJANS (20-13) vs. No. 4 GRACE (Ind.) LANCERS (20-14)
Saturday, March 19 | 11:00 a.m. CDT
Manahan Orthopedic Capital Center | Winona Lake, Ind.
Quick Notes
• Trinity International caps off the 2015-16 season on Saturday, with their appearance in the NCCAA Men's Basketball National Championship 3rd-place game. The Trojans will face off against the host Grace (Ind.) Lancers, starting at 11:00 a.m. CDT.
• Pay-per-view streaming video for Saturday's finale will be available at TIUTrojans.com. The pay-per-view stream is $6.95 per game.
• The Trojans wrapped up the 2015-16 regular season with a 19-11 record, the winningest campaign since 1998-99. Trinity finished 3rd in the CCAC North Division and 6th in the league overall, with a 11-9 mark.
• Four players are currently averaging double figures for the Trojans, led by Grant Corsi's 14.3 points per game. Zach Kirschbaum (13.9), Jeremy Carlyle (12.1), and Thomas Amrine (10.9), are also in double figures at this point in the season.
• The Trojans secured their 20th victory of the season on Wednesday, recording the program's first 20-win campiagn since 1998-99. Another win this week would be the team's 34th victory so far between 2014-16, matching the most wins over a two-year period for TIU since 1997-99 (14 wins in '97-'98, 20 in '98-'99).
• Trinity's win over Roosevelt on Feb. 6 clinched a winning record, the program's first since the 1998-99 season, a span of 17 seasons.
• Saturday's game is a rematch of a Nov. 7 matchup, during the 2015 LaQuinta Classic. Then ranked No.14 in the NAIA Coaches Poll, Grace took an 86-71 decision over the Trojans.
• Junior forward Zach Kirschbaum was named to the NAIA All-American Honorable Mention list on Thursday, becoming the first Trojan to earn NAIA All-American status since 2005-06 (Josh Edmon).
• Junior forward Zach Kirschbaum is the CCAC leader in rebounds, averaging 9.9 per game. The Las Vegas, Nev. native is also tied for the league lead with 15 double-doubles this year.
• TIU posted the second-best scoring average in the CCAC this year, averaging 82.6 points per game. Grace finished 7th in the 10-team Crossroads League, with an average of 77.5 points each contest.
• Defensively, TIU is 14th in the CCAC with 78.4 points allowed per game; Grace has the 3rd-ranked defense in the Crossroads, giving up just 72.6 points each game to their opponents.
• As a team, the Trojans rank 12th in the NAIA with 289 total steals this season, and 13th with an average of 9.0 steals per game. Trinity ranks 4th in the NCCAA in steals, with the highest average of any team in the tournament.
• Trinity earned three victories over nationally-ranked opponents this season. The Trojans upset No. 14 Olivet Nazarene and No. 15 Robert Morris in back-to-back games on Jan. 16-20 by a combined three points, 79-78 and 66-64. On Feb. 20, TIU celebrated Senior Night with an 83-67 victory over No. 19 Robert Morris.
• The Lancers finished 5th in the Crossroads League with a 9-9 record in league play. Grace fell in overtime to Goshen (Ind.) in the Crossroads Tournament first round, then dropped the NCCAA Midwest Regional matchup to eventual region champ Ohio Christian.
Scouting the Opponent
• Senior guard Brandon Vanderhegghen leads the Lancers as the Crossroads League Defensive Player of the Year, as well as earning an All-Crossroads First Team selection.
• On the offensive end of the floor, Vanderhegghen averages a team-high 17.0 points per game, as three players in all are averaging double figures for the Lancers.
• Logan Irwin currently ranks 11th in the NAIA with 172 total assists, while Erik Bowen's 298 rebounds on the year ranks him 12th on the NAIA's national leaderboard.
• Stephen Halstead is the leading deep threat for the Lancers, shooting .451 from beyond the arc. Halstead ranks 7th nationally in the NCCAA in three-point percentage.
Trojans in the CCAC Tournament
• Trinity struggled to find their shot all night, as the 6th-seeded Trojans fell behind early, ultimately dropping the opening round of the CCAC Tournament to the No. 3 seed St. Xavier Cougars, 88-67 on Feb. 24.
• Zach Kirschbaum led the way with 15 points on the night, as three players in all finished with double figures for the Trojans. Grant Corsi collected ten points, while Luke Mead came off the bench to score 11, including the first seven points for Trinity.
• The shooting woes began right away for TIU, who missed their first eight attempts from the field. The Cougars jumped out to a 9-0 lead before Mead's layup at the 16:26 mark put the Trojans on the board. A quick four-point rally midway through the first half, from a Thomas Amrine layup and a pair of Greg Carlyle free throws, was quickly answered by one of St. Xavier's seven first-half three-pointers. Another 4-0 run with 8:52 left in the period was followed by six straight from the home team, as the Cougars were able to keep Trinity from chipping away at the deficit.
TIU in the NCCAA Tournament
• Trinity will be making their third appearance at the NCCAA Men's Basketball National Championship in program history. The Trojans last played in the NCCAA Tournament in 1999, and made their first trip in 1974.
• A win over the Eagles would earn the first-ever spot in the NCCAA National Championship game for Trinity International in program history.
• The Trojans finished in 3rd place in 1999, falling to Emmanuel (Ga.) in the semifinals, then taking the consolation game over Cedarville (Ohio), 107-104.
• The 1974 tournament was a four-team field, as the Trojans lost in the semis to Bethany (Kan.).
All-CCAC Team
• For the first time in the last five seasons, Trinity placed two Trojans on the All-CCAC Team.
• Junior forward Zach Kirschbaum earned All-CCAC First Team honors, becoming TIU's only First Team selection since 2010-11.
• Junior wing Grant Corsi was named an All-CCAC Honorable Mention in his first year with the Trojans.
• Corsi and Kirschbaum were also named to the All-NCCAA North Central Region First Team, while senior guard Thomas Amrine earned All-Region Honorable Mention.
National Leaders
• The Trojans rank among the top 20 in NAIA-II in total steals (12th, 289), steals per game (13th, 9.0), blocks per game (15th, 4.1), turnover margin (13th, +2.8), and total blocks (16th, 131).
• On the offensive end, TIU ranks 29th in scoring average, thanks in large part to a total of 285 three-pointers made this season, 22nd-best in the NAIA.
• The Trojans rank among the NAIA's top 40 teams in all five major categories: total points (26th, 2,653), rebounds (26th, 1,263), assists (39th, 471), steals (12th, 289), and blocks (16th, 131).
Career Milestone
• Senior shooting guard Thomas Amrine became the 19th player in Trinity International history to reach 1,000 points on Thursday night, scoring 18 points against Southwestern Christian (Okla.)
• Amrine now ranks 18th on TIU's all-time scoring list, with 1,015 career points.
Trojans in the Polls
• Trinity International has appeared in the NAIA Division II Coaches Poll 21 times in program history, but not since the 1997-98 campaign.
• TIU's last ranking came on Jan. 6, 1998, when the Trojans 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.
New Signings
• The Trinity International men's basketball program received a major boost in the 2016 recruiting class, when the Trojans announced the signing of Mark Smith, a 6-7 forward from Riverside-Brookfield High School (Riverside, Ill).
• The Trojans have also added Oakton CC foward Sam Mitchell (Glen Ellyn, Ill.) to the class of '16, who will join Trinity as a junior next fall.
• Mitchell played two seasons at Oakton CC under head coach Mick Reuter, where he was a standout on the court for the Owls. Mitchell was named All-Skyway Conference Second Team as a freshman in 2012-13, averaging 16 points, 8 rebounds, and two assists per game, while shooting 47% from the field.
• The versatile forward followed up his first season by earning All-Skyway First Team honors as a sophomore in 2013-14. That season, Mitchell helped the Owls to an improvement of five wins from the previous year, posting averages of 13 points, 6 boards, 4 assists, and one steal per game, shooting 85% from the free throw line. For his effort, Mitchell was also named to the NJCAA Region VI First Team.