Trojan News

03.14.2012  |  Men's Basketball  |  Viewed 630 times
WINONA LAKE, Ind. - The Trevecca men's basketball team (20-11), following their 2012 NCCAA Mid-East Regional Championship (region tourney), earned an automatic bid to the 2012 NCCAA Division l Men's Basketball Championships. Trevecca, one of eight teams, will play Emmanuel College (19-15) on Wednesday at 7:30 a.m.
Trevecca Nazarene University | Trojans | Overall Record 20-11
NCCAA Mid-East Region Champions | NAIA Division l (TranSouth Athletic Conference)
Nashville, Tenn.

Trevecca finished 10-6 in the TranSouth Athletic Conference. The Trojans parlayed that into the top seed at the 2012 NCCAA Mid-East Regional. Trevecca then defeated fourth-seeded Victory University 72-64 in the semifinals and second-seeded Tennessee Temple 84-81 in the finals for the Mid-East's automatic bid.
Emmanuel College | Lions | Overall Record 19-15
NCCAA South Region At Large | NAIA Division l (Southern States Athletic Conference)
Franklin Springs, Ga.

Emmanuel College received and at large bid after falling 82-81 to Truett-McConnell College in the finals of the NCCAA South Regional Championships. The Lions defeated Southeastern College 66-65 in the semifinals. EC has two wins this season over teams ranked in the NAIA Top 25. One of those is over then-No. 5 Southern Polytechnic State University.

Asmatiek Fields, a six-foot-six senior forward from Acworth, Ga., leads the Lions in scoring with 13 points per game. He is also averaging 6.4 rebounds, 2.1 assists, and 1.6 steals per game. Fields is shooting 48% from the field and is 15-for-49 from three-point range. Graham Maxwell, a six-foot-three senior guard from Orlando, Fla., is averaging 12.6 points, 3.3 rebounds, 2.4 assists, and 1.7 steals per game. Maxwell shoots 31% from beyond the arc and has made 48 three-pointers on the year. Luke Miller (65 three-pointers) and Isaiah Tyus (44) are also tremendous long-range shooters. Andre Holder leads the Lions with 29 blocks.

As a team the Lions have hit 211 three pointers. In comparison, Trevecca has hit 160 three-point baskets.  

T.J. Rosene, in his fifth season at the helm of the program, led the Lions to the 2009 NCCAA National Championship. He also led the Lions to the 2011 Southern States Championship and was awarded the conference's automatic bid to the NAIA National Championships. Fields and Maxwell were members of both of those teams. Rosene led Emmanuel to the NAIA Championships in his first season (2007-2008) after replacing Andy Sharpe, who moved to Martin Methodist College. He also coached at Reinhardt University prior to taking the job at Emmanuel.
The 2012 NCCAA Championship event will be played March 14-17 at the new 2,000-seat Orthopaedic Capital Center on the campus of Grace College in Winona Lake, which is between Fort Wayne and South Bend. Each of the eight teams will play three games, with the finals slated for Saturday, March 17.

All tournament teams will participate in a community service project on Tuesday prior to a banquet that evening, with play beginning on Wednesday. All eight teams will play one game on Wednesday and Thursday. The teams playing for the 5-8 places will play on Friday while the teams playing for the 1-4 places will play on Saturday.