Quick Notes

• Trinity International hits the road for the first time in two weeks on Saturday, when they go for their 20th victory of the season at Indiana-South Bend.
• Streaming video and live stats of Saturday's game can be found at IUSBTitans.com.
• The Trojans sit one game behind Robert Morris for the top spot of the CCAC standings, as the Eagles remain unbeaten in league play. The best record in the North Division will earn an automatic bid to the NAIA Division II National Championship tournament.
• With a win over the Titans on Saturday, Trinity can officially clinch a spot in the upcoming CCAC Tournament, which kicks off Tuesday, Feb. 21.
• Trinity are coming off an 77-67 win over St. Xavier on Wednesday night, the team's 13th victory in their last 14 games, and the first-ever victory over St. Xavier in program history.
• Currently the Trojans are 19-4 overall, for the best overall mark in the league.
• TIU moved up three spots in the latest NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll on Jan. 24, earning the No. 17 spot. The Trojans debuted at No. 20 for their first national ranking in nearly two decades in the previous poll on Jan. 10.
• The Trojans have some of the best defensive statistics in the country this season. Trinity leads the NAIA in blocks (122), ranks 3rd in blocks per game (5.3), 10th in turnover margin (+3.9 per game), and 10th in total steals (195).
• Trinity is coming off of their first 20-win season in 17 years, and return four of five starters from a year ago. With one more victory this year, the ë16-'17 Trojans can record the program's 7th 20-win season, and the first back-to-back 20-win seasons since 1995-96 and 1996-97.
• 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.
• Senior forward Zach Kirschbaum leads both divisions of NAIA basketball in rebounding, collecting a total of 260 rebounds. The Las Vegas, Nev. native is also 2nd in NAIA Division II in defensive rebounds per game (8.5), and total rebounds per game (11.3), 3rd in blocks (60) and 4th in blocks per game (2.6).
• Kirschbaum was named the CCAC Player of the Week, as well as the NCCAA National Player of the Week on Jan. 17, after his 32-point performance in the road win over Olivet Nazarene on Jan. 14. Kirschbaum has three CCAC and two NCCAA weekly honors during his career as a Trojan.
• Kirschbaum has posted 17 double-doubles this season, most in the NAIA, and four more than any other player in the CCAC. He also leads the league in rebounding (11.3 per game) and blocked shots, (2.6 per game).
• With two blocks against St. Xavier on Nov. 16, 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. 5 spot on the list, and now has 106 blocks in his Trojan career.
• Trinity players earned two CCAC Player of the Week awards during the month of December, 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.
• Grant Corsi is also scoring double figures season, with 13.9 points per game. In Wednesday's win over St. Xavier, Corsi posted 22 points, most in any game this season other than his 30-point performance against SXU on Nov. 16.
• Senior guard Luke Mead leads the Trojan bench with 11.6 points per game, the third-highest average on the team. Mead also ranks 2nd on the team in assists, averaging 2.8 per game. With 22 points on Jan. 21, Mead set a new career high in scoring during the win over St. Francis.
• Sophomore Jeremy Carlyle is averaging 10.8 points per game, after posting 22 points in the win at Olivet Nazarene on Jan. 14. Carlyle is shooting 40.7% from three-point range and leads the team with 34 steals on the season.
• Freshman guard Will Davidson is 2nd in the NAIA with a 5.7 assist-to-turnover ratio. Davidson has 17 assists to just three turnovers, with four assists in his last two games. Davidson has made 18 appearances since he committed his last turnover, back on Nov. 5.
• Senior guard Sean Smith will make his 118th career appearance on Wednesday, and is now 8th on TIU's all-time games played list.
• Senior wing Henry French is averaging 1.3 blocks per game, and is 5th on the CCAC leaderboard. French has 31 total blocks (26th in NAIA), and is averaging 8.5 points per game. Against Robert Morris on Jan. 18, French set a new career high with 10 rebounds.
• Sophomore guard Greg Carlyle is the team leader in three-point shooting, with a .411 percentage, the 13th-best rate in the CCAC. In the month of January, Carlyle is shooting .429 (9-21) and has hit at least one three six of his last seven games.
• Freshman forward T.J. Johnson set a career high with nine rebounds in the win over Trinity Christian on Jan. 7. Johnson has started all 23 games this season, averaging 3.7 points and 3.0 rebounds in 13.9 minutes per game.
• Freshman center Rick Wright made his Trojan debut on Jan. 3 in the win over St. Ambrose. On Wednesday, Wright set a new season high with four rebounds in the win over SXU.
 

About Indiana-South Bend

• Saturday marks the 11th meeting between Trinity International and Indiana-South Bend since the 2003-04 season. The Titans hold the advantage, with an 8-2 record over Trinity.
• Indiana-South Bend had won the first eight meetings before Trinity earned a 78-76 road win on Jan. 14, 2015.
• In their last meeting on Jan. 30, 2016, five players finished in double figures as Trinity held off a tough South Bend squad down the stretch, securing an 82-72 home victory.
• The Titans are currently 11th in the CCAC standings and fighting for a CCAC Tournament berth, but have dropped seven of their last eight games, all in league play.
• IUSB leads the NAIA with 12.4 three-pointers made per game. Jeremy Jones averages a CCAC-best 3.4 threes each night, while senior Avery Harmon leads the team with 18.7 points per game.
 

Trojans in the Polls

• Trinity earned the No. 17 spot in the latest NAIA Division II Coaches' Poll, released on Tuesday.
• Trinity International has appeared in the NAIA Division II Coaches Poll 23 times in program history, with this season marking the first national ranking since the 1997-98 campaign.
• Prior to Jan. 10, the Trojans' last NAIA ranking came on Jan. 6, 1998, when the TIU also 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. 5 in the latest NCCAA National Rankings, their highest ranking this season.
• The Trojans were picked 4th in the CCAC preseason ratings, behind St. Francis, Robert Morris, and St. Xavier.
 

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.
• Zach Kirschbaum's 60 total blocks this season ranks him 4th all-time on TIU's single-season blocks list. With five more blocks this season, Kirschbaum will tie Dan Larson (1994-95) for No. 3 on the list.

Up Next

• The Trojans continue their two-game road trip on Wednesday, Feb. 1 when they face Judson.
• Saturday, Feb. 4 vs. Roosevelt is the team's annual Upward Night, where kids and families involved with Upward Basketball enjoy free admission and a chance to meet the team after the game.