Quick Notes

• The CCAC champion and 11th-ranked Trinity International Trojans continue their CCAC Tournament run on Friday night, when they host the Calumet St. Joseph Crimson Wave.
• Streaming video and live stats of Friday's game can be found at TIUTrojans.com/LIVE.
• Trinity won a share of their first-ever CCAC regular season title, finishing with an 18-2 record in league play. The Trojans clinched the championship with a 93-81 road win over #8 Robert Morris last Saturday.
• Trinity are coming off a 102-72 win over Purdue-Northwest in the CCAC Tournament quarterfinals on Tuesday night, their 10th victory in a row, and the 21st win in the last 22 games.
• 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 27 wins this season, tying the all-time program record, originally set in 1996-97, with a record of 27-6.
• Currently the Trojans are 27-4 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 two spots in the latest NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Top 25 poll released on Tuesday, earning the No. 11 spot. The Trojans debuted at No. 20 for their first national ranking in nearly two decades in the poll on Jan. 10, and have moved up in each new edition of the poll since.
• The Trojans have some of the best defensive statistics in the country this season. Trinity ranks leads NAIA-II in blocks (170), ranks 2nd in blocks per game (5.5), 6th in total steals (278), and 8th in turnover margin (+3.8 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 18.0 points per game, and ranks among the NAIA's top five in multiple categories. The Las Vegas, Nev. native is 2nd in NAIA-II in total blocks (77) and rebounds (344), 3rd in defensive rebounds per game (8.2), and 4th in blocks per game (2.5), and total rebounds per game (11.1).
• Kirschbaum has posted 22 double-doubles this season, most in NAIA-II, 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 123 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 14.0 points per game. The senior has averaged over 17 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 11.4 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 Purdue-Northwest on Tuesday, Mead finished with 8 points and a career-high five steals.
• Sophomore Jeremy Carlyle is averaging 11.2 points per game, after scoring a team-high 16 points in Tuesday's win over the Pride. Carlyle leads the Trojans with a .415 three-point shooting percentage, and an .864 percentage from the free throw line.
• Senior guard Sean Smith will make his 126th career appearance on Friday, the 4th-most games played in TIU history. This season, Smith is averaging 5.3 points per game on 47.8% shooting.
• Senior wing Henry French is averaging 1.6 blocks per game, and is 3rd on the CCAC leaderboard. French has 51 total blocks (14th in NAIA), and is averaging 8.5 points per game. French also leads the team with 2.9 assists per game.
• French is one of three players competing for the final spot in the dunk contest at the NABC-NAIA Shoot & Slam presented by US Bank. The winner of a fan vote on Instagram will earn the final spot and compete during the NAIA Division I Tournament in Kansas City, Mo. on Mar. 18. The deadline to vote is Feb. 28 at 9 a.m.
• Sophomore guard Greg Carlyle is second on the team in three-point shooting, with a .404 percentage. Carlyle was one of five Trojans in double figures during Tuesday's win over Purdue-Northwest, finishing with 13 points.
• 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 29 of 31 games this season, averaging 4.8 points and 3.1 rebounds in 14.5 minutes per game.
• Freshman guard Will Davidson ranks 38th in NAIA Division II with a 2.5 assist-to-turnover ratio. Davidson has 27 assists to 11 turnovers, with at least one assist in nine of his last ten 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. He played a season-high 13 minutes against the Pride on Tuesday.
 

About Calumet St. Joseph

• The Crimson Wave won the CCAC South Division, punching their ticket to the NAIA Tournament for the first time in program history. This season's CCSJ team becomes the first Calumet team to reach the NAIA national tournament in any sport.
• Friday marks the 29th meeting between Trinity International and Calumet St. Joseph since the 2003-04 season, with the Wave holding a 15-13 advantage in the series. Trinity is 2-1 against CCSJ in the Boomer Roberts era.
• CCSJ won six of their last seven regular-season games to force a tie among the leaders in the CCAC South Division. The Crimson Wave were 3-7 after their last meeting with TIU on Dec. 10.
• Five players recorded double-figures, as Trinity led wire-to-wire in a 91-76 home victory over the Wave, inside Van Dixhorn Arena on Dec. 10.
• Devin Harrison leads the team with 13.1 points per game this season, and is averaging 2.8 three-pointers made each game (33rd in NAIA).
 

Trojans in the Polls

• Trinity earned the No. 11 spot in the latest NAIA Division II Coaches' Poll released on Tuesday, up two spots from the previous poll.
• Trinity International has appeared in the NAIA Division II Coaches Poll 25 times in program history, with this season marking the first national ranking since the 1997-98 campaign.
• 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 held steady in the latest NCCAA National Rankings, at 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 77 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.
• Kirschbaum also sits 3rd in the TIU record book in rebounding, with 344 boards this season. The senior needs 74 more rebounds to match Marc Davidson's 1994-95 season, and 97 more for Davidson's record-setting 1993-94 campaign
• Jeremy Carlyle has made 71 three-pointers this season, 8th-most in a single season in Trinity history. Carlyle can reach Jake Olson (1995-96) and Thomas Amrine (2015-16) for 6th with seven more threes.
 

Up Next

• If Trinity wins on Friday, they will face either No. 7 Robert Morris, or Olivet Nazarene in the CCAC Tournament Championship on Monday, Feb. 27. The Trojans would host Olivet Nazarene, but will play on the road against Robert Morris if the Eagles advance. Tipoff on Monday is set for 7:00 p.m.
• If Robert Morris defeats Olivet Nazarene on Friday, Trinity would be guaranteed the CCAC's third automatic bid to the NAIA Division II National Championship, which begins Mar. 8 in Point Lookout, Mo.