TCJ Eagles Men's Basketball concluded its regular season with a sweep of a South Region road trip through Southeastern Baptist College and Pensacola Christian College. By scoring 179 points and allowing just 149, the TCJ Eagles won both games and left little doubt that they are ready for the postseason as they finish the regular season 14-9 overall in official games and 7-3 in South Region competition.  

Friday: Trinity 103, Southeastern Baptist 79

After DJ Thompson scored first and SBC tied it on a jump shot only 1:05 after tip-off, Diego Fernandez hit his first three-pointer, but that shot 1:30 into the game gave Trinity a lead they would never reliquinsh. In fact, the Eagles would steadily build that lead throughout the first half on scores from Tayden Owens, Alex Dawson, Jayden Little, Fernandez, Maximus Fuentes, Sherrard Adams, Derek Rivers, and Davion Fitzgerald.

Fernandez (27) and Owens (25) combined for 42 points on 21-for-38 (55%) shooting, including 6 three-pointers (3 each). Fernandez also drained 4 of 5 foul shots, grabbed 12 rebounds, and assisted 7 other scores. Owens added 6 rebounds, 4 assists, and 6 steals. 

SBC, though, stormed back after falling behind by 16 at 35-19 with 6:24 left in the half. They finihed on a 16-8 run to bring the halftime margin to single digits at 43-35.

Both teams had fantastic second-half scoring with Trinity shooting 57% from the field with 7 more three-pointers in putting up 60 points. Overall, Trinity hit 11 threes and 10 free throws. SBC shot 42% from the field and hit 7 threes, getting 20+ points from AJ Jones (21) and Zach Scott (20). Chancler Burks also hit double figures with 14. 

Twleve Eagles scored points: Adams (15), Little (8), Thompson (6), Dawson (5), Fuentes (4), Josh Bledsoe (4), Shadrack Kakora (3), Brandon Hill (2), Fitzgerald (2), and Rivers (2).  

Saturday: Trinity 74, Pensacola Christian 60

The season finale at rivaled PCC saw 7 ties and 4 lead changes. The first half was much closer with PCC using a 13-8 push in the final 7:32 to erase a deficit and take a modest lead. PCC's Deric Woods tied the score at 30-30 with 2:35 left in the half. Fernandez hit a jump shot to regain the lead for Trinity, but Woods and Liam Gerdts each hit baskets in the final 41 seconds. Woods retied thge score, and Gerdts gave PCC a 34-32 lead at the break. 

The second half started with 4 ties and 3 lead changes by the midway point, and a fifth tie of the half occured on Josh Azucena's jumper to make the score 47-47. 

Brandon Hill's jump shot with 8:29 remaining gave Trinity the lead for good at 49-47. Fuentes (free throws), Rivers (three-pointer), and Hill (layup) extnded the lead to 7 with only 1 PCC basket in that mix. TCJ finished with a 25-13 run after Hill's tie-breaking shot to put up the final score. PCC got to within 5 with 6:06 left, but they would get no closer. 

Trinity shot 57% overall, including an amazing 62% in the second half. PCC shot 42% in each half. 

Eight TCJ Eagles scored points: Fernandez (23), Hill (14), Fuentes (13), Thompson (8), Rivers (6), Owens (4),Dawson (4), and Little (2). 

PCC got double digits from Woods (18), Azucena (16), and Gerdts (14) to help lead their team. 

NOTE: Diego Fernandez finishes the regular season as the nation's leading scorer at both 555 total points and 24.1 points per game in official games played.

South Region Tournament

The Eagles will now prepare for the upcoming South Region Tournament. The tournamnet is scheduled to begin on Thursday, February 26, at Toccoa Falls College in Toccoa Falls, Georgia. Seedings and scheduling are coming soon.