Quick Notes

• Trinity International prepares for the next-to-last home game of the regular season, when the Trojans host the Roosevelt Lakers on Saturday night.
• Streaming video and live stats of Saturday's game can be found at TIUTrojans.com/LIVE.
• The Trojans sit a half game behind Robert Morris for the top spot of the CCAC standings, after the Eagles suffered their first loss in league play on Wednesday night. The best record in the North Division will earn an automatic bid to the NAIA Division II National Championship tournament.
• Trinity are coming off an 80-78 road win over Judson on Wednesday, clinching at least the No. 2 seed in the upcoming CCAC Tournament. 
• The team earns their 21st victory of the season, the most wins in a single season for the program since 1996-97.
• Currently the Trojans are 21-4 overall, for the best overall mark in the league. Trinity has also secured back-to-back 20-win seasons for the first time in two decades (1995-96, 1996-97).
• 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 (136), ranks 3rd in blocks per game (5.4), 9th in turnover margin (+3.7 per game), and 10th in total steals (210).
• 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 ranks among the NAIA's top five in multiple categories. The Las Vegas, Nev. native is also 2nd in NAIA Division II in rebounds per game (11.2), and total rebounds (279), 3rd in total blocks (64) and defensive rebounds per game (8.2), and 4th in blocks per game (2.6).
• Kirschbaum has posted 18 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 (11.2 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 110 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 13.4 points per game. In the win over St. Xavier on Jan. 25, 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 11.2 points per game, the third-highest average on the team. Mead also ranks 2nd on the team in assists, averaging 2.7 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 41.9% from three-point range and has averaged 3.0 made three-pointers over each of the last four games, shooting 46.2% over that span.
• Freshman guard Will Davidson is 2nd in the NAIA with a 5.3 assist-to-turnover ratio. Davidson has 21 assists to just four turnovers, with eight assists in his last three games. Davidson committed his first turnover in the last 20 appearances in the win at Judson on Wednesday.
• Senior guard Sean Smith will make his 120th career appearance on Saturday, tying Christopher Schmidt (2004-08) for 7th on TIU's all-time list.
• Senior wing Henry French is averaging 1.5 blocks per game, and is 4th on the CCAC leaderboard. French has 38 total blocks (19th in NAIA), and is averaging 8.6 points per game. French has also dealt out five assists in each of the last two games, at Indiana-South Bend and Judson.
• On Monday, 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.
• Sophomore guard Greg Carlyle is second on the team in three-point shooting, with a .413 percentage. In the month of January, Carlyle shot .417 (10-24) and has hit at least one three in eight of his last nine games.
• 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 all 25 games this season, averaging 4.7 points and 3.1 rebounds in 14.2 minutes per game.
• Freshman center Rick Wright made his Trojan debut on Jan. 3 in the win over St. Ambrose. On Jan. 25, Wright set a new season high with four rebounds in the win over SXU.
 

About Roosevelt

• Saturday marks the 13th meeting between Trinity International and Roosevelt. The all-time series between the two sides is currently tied at 6-6.
• Trinity has won the last three meetings, after Roosevelt previously won five straight from 2013-15.
• In their last meeting on Nov. 30, Trinity would lead by as much as 13 in the first half but the host Lakers would rally, getting a shot at a potential game-winning shot before the Trojans held on for an 80-79 victory.
• Kirschbaum finished the night with a game-high 22 points and 13 rebounds, earning his ninth double-double of the season. Grant Corsi posted 16 points, while Greg Carlyle came off the bench to shoot a perfect 6-for-6 from the field for 14 points in the win. Jeremy Carlyle also finished in double figures, going for 13 points with three three-pointers.
• The Lakers currently sit 10th in the CCAC standings, just one game out of a playoff spot for the CCAC Tournament.
• Sophomore Jake Ludwig leads the team with 15.9 points per game, while Joshua Dillingham ranks 11th in the NAIA with 3.3 offensive boards per game.
 

Trojans in the Polls

• Trinity earned the No. 17 spot in the latest NAIA Division II Coaches' Poll, released on Jan. 24.
• 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 also moved up one spot in the latest NCCAA National Rankings, to No. 4 in the latest poll released Jan. 31.
• 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 64 total blocks this season ranks him 4th all-time on TIU's single-season blocks list. With one more block this season, Kirschbaum will tie Dan Larson (1994-95) for No. 3 on the list.
 

Up Next

• The Trojans head west next Wednesday, February 8, when they take on the St. Ambrose Bees beginning at 7:30 p.m.
• Trinity's final regular season home game is set for next Saturday, February 11 against Cardinal Stritch. The team will also honor its six seniors as part of the Senior Day festivities.
• The last non-conference game of the year is set for Tuesday, February 14 at Maranatha Baptist (Wisc.), beginning at 7:00 p.m.