TBC Eagles Men's Basketball's season came to end Thursday night as the Eagles fell short in the opening round of the 2024 South Region Tournament to Pensacola Christian College. The Eagles battled back from a 13-point second-half deficit to pull to within three, but Pensacola used clutch shooting from the field and the line down the stretch to hold on and win 68-61.

Xavier Rose scored 15 points to lead TBC, and Brandon Hill followed with 12. Rose was 7 for 15 from the field, and Hill was 6 for 6 at the line to garner the bulk of their points.

Diego Fernandez totaled 11 points to finish the season as Trinity's leading scorer at 17.1 points per game. He topped 20 points in 11 of 14 games since the calendar turned to 2024.

DJ Thompson and Zach Kiadii each scored 6 points in their final game while Jacquez Anderson tallied 5, Jace Spinelli contributed 4, and Ian Kanady had 2.

Pensacola Christian's Liam Gertz led all scorers with 21 points, and Kaiden Pack finished with 16. Gertz also blocked 5 TBC shots. Six teammates contributed points in the win as PCC shot 45% from the field.

All-South Region

The Men's team had two players earn All-South Region honors in 2024. Diego Fernandez earned his way onto the All-Region First team for his performance, especially in the second half of the season. In addition to his 17.1 points per game in official contests, Fernandez averaged 12 points in five exhibition games against NCAA Division 1 and Division 2 opponents. He shot 44% from the field and 32% from three-point range while ranking 13th nationally with 85.2% success from the foul ine. 

Xavier Rose was named to the All-Region Second Team. Rose ended the season averaging 12.3 points per official game. As of Thursday night, he was second in the country in both shooting percentage at 59% from the field and assists with 129 (6.8 APG). He also scored 37 points in those same five NCAA Division 1 and Division 2 exhibition games. 

[TBC Basketball All-South Region (L to R): Diego Fernandez, Emma Parrish, Madlyn Touze, Xavier Rose]

In his first season as head coach, Nate DeLeon led his team to 10 regular-season wins, 6 South Region wins, and the #3 seed in the South Region Tournament. With most of his players slated to return for next season and a talented recruiting class on the way, the near future of TBC Eagles Men's Basketball looks very nice. 

[Nate DeLeon, TBC Men's Basketball head coach]