Quick Notes

• The CCAC champion and 13th-ranked Trinity International Trojans open up postseason play Tuesday night, when they host the Purdue-Northwest Pride in the quarterfinal round of the CCAC Tournament.
• Streaming video and live stats of Tuesday's game can be found at TIUTrojans.com/LIVE.
• Trinity are coming off a 93-81 road win at Robert Morris on Saturday, tying the Eagles for the top spot in the CCAC standings with an 18-2 conference record.
• The Trojans earned the No. 2 seed after losing the fourth tiebreaker to Robert Morris, on head-to-head point differential. Robert Morris also earned the North Division's automatic bid to the NAIA Tournament.
• The team has 26 wins this season, the 2nd-most victories in program history, and the most since 1996-97, when they set a program record with 27.
• Currently the Trojans are 26-4 overall, for the best overall mark in the CCAC. Trinity has also secured back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in two decades (1995-96, 1996-97).
• TIU moved up four spots in the latest NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll released on Feb. 7, earning the No. 13 spot. The Trojans debuted at No. 20 for their first national ranking in nearly two decades in the poll on Jan. 10.
• The Trojans have some of the best defensive statistics in the country this season. Trinity ranks 2nd in the NAIA in blocks (155), and in blocks per game (5.3), 9th in total steals (256), and 9th in turnover margin (+3.7 per game).
• 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 is the Trojans' leading scorer, with 18.2 points per game, and ranks among the NAIA's top five in multiple categories. The Las Vegas, Nev. native is 3rd in NAIA Division II in total blocks (71), 3rd in total defensive rebounds per game (8.1), 4th in blocks per game (2.4), and total rebounds (319), and 5th in rebounds per game (11.0.).
• Kirschbaum has posted 22 double-doubles this season, most in the NAIA, and six more than any other player in the CCAC. He also leads the league in rebounding and blocked shots.
• With five blocks against Roosevelt on Feb. 4, Kirschbaum moved into fourth place on Trinity International's all-time blocked shots list. Kirschbaum surpassed Ignas Verbus' (2007-11) 113 blocks for the No. 4 spot on the list, and now has 122 blocks in his Trojan career.
• 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.
• 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 14.1 points per game. The senior has averaged over 19 points over each of his last four apperances, including a team-high 25 points in Trinity's win at Robert Morris on Saturday.
• Senior guard Luke Mead leads the Trojan bench with 11.5 points per game, the third-highest average on the team. Mead also ranks 2nd on the team in assists, averaging 2.8 per game. In the win over Robert Morris on Saturday, Mead finished with 16 points, with a career-high seven rebounds.
• Sophomore Jeremy Carlyle is averaging 11.0 points per game, after posting double figures in four straight games (Feb. 1-11) for the first time since late December. Carlyle leads the Trojans with a .406 three-point shooting percentage, and an .875 percentage from the free throw line.
• Senior guard Sean Smith will make his 125th career appearance on Saturday, surpassing Bobby Brown (2002-06) for 4th on TIU's all-time list. This season, Smith is averaging 5.1 points per game on 47.6% shooting.
• Senior wing Henry French is averaging 1.7 blocks per game, and is 3rd on the CCAC leaderboard. French has 50 total blocks (17th in NAIA), and is averaging 8.6 points per game. French also leads the team with 2.9 assists per game.
• On Jan. 30, French was nominated to participate in the Dunk Contest as part of the 2017 NABC-NAIA Shoot & Slam presented by US Bank. The event takes place during the NAIA Division I National Tournament, in Kansas City on Mar. 18, with participants announced later this month.
• Sophomore guard Greg Carlyle is second on the team in three-point shooting, with a .400 percentage. Carlyle is averaging 1.8 assists per game, after recording four assists at Robert Morris on Saturday.
• Freshman forward T.J. Johnson set a career high with 19 points in the win at Indiana-South Bend on Jan. 28. Johnson has started 28 of 30 games this season, averaging 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 14.4 minutes per game.
• Freshman guard Will Davidson ranks 8th in NAIA Division II with a 3.4 assist-to-turnover ratio. Davidson has 25 assists to just seven turnovers, with at least one assist in eight of his last nine games.
• Freshman center Rick Wright made his Trojan debut on Jan. 3 in the win over St. Ambrose. In the rematch with the Bees on Feb. 8, Wright set a career high with 10 points, his first game in double-figures as a Trojan.
 

About Purdue-Northwest

• Tuesday's marks the 2nd meeting between Trinity International and Purdue-Northwest, with the Trojans taking an 87-73 on Dec. 3.
• Purdue-Northwest formed due to a merger between Purdue-Calumet and Purdue-North Central in 2016. Trinity holds a 29-14 record against the two previous programs.
• After the home team jumped out to a big lead in the opening minutes, Trinity rallied to earn the road victory on Dec. 3, as five Trojans finished in double figures during an 87-73 win over Purdue-Northwest.
• Senior forward Zach Kirschbaum recorded his NAIA-leading 10th double-double of the season, posting a team-high 18 points and 16 rebounds in the win. Grant Corsi would collect 13 points on the day, while Jeremy Carlyle, Greg Carlyle, and Luke Mead would all finish with 12.
• The Pride hold a 13-16 record on the season, and have dropped their last two games, to Trinity Christian and at Governors State.
• Torrance Johnson leads the team with 16.8 points per game. Johnson also ranks 4th in the NAIA with 3.7 offensive rebounds.
 

Trojans in the Polls

• Trinity earned the No. 13 spot in the latest NAIA Division II Coaches' Poll released on Feb. 7, up four spots from the previous poll.
• Trinity International has appeared in the NAIA Division II Coaches Poll 24 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 dropped one spot in the latest NCCAA National Rankings, to No. 4 in the poll released on Tuesday.
• 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 76 total blocks this season ranks him 3th all-time on TIU's single-season blocks list. With five blocks against Roosevelt on Feb. 4, Kirschbaum surpassed Dan Larson (1994-95) for No. 3 on the list.
 

Up Next

• If Trinity wins on Tuesday, they will also host the semifinal round of the CCAC Tournament, on Friday, February 24 against either St. Francis or Calumet St. Joseph. Tipoff for the semifinals is set for 7:00 p.m.