GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Golden Eagles will continue non-conference play in Illinois this weekend as they compete in their third classic of the season, taking on a pair of Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC) foes in Trinity Christian and Saint Xavier as part of the Troll Classic. Lawrence Tech will also be at the classic as CU will open play against Trinity Christian on Friday at 9 p.m. EST and follow that with a game against Saint Xavier on Saturday at 5 p.m. EST. Both games will be played at the home of the Trolls in the Athletics & Recreation Complex in Palos Heights, Illinois. Live video, stats, and audio links for the games can be found at cugoldeneagles.com. 
 
Opponent: Trinity Christian
Date: Friday, November 8
Time: 9 p.m. EST
Location: Palos Heights, Ill. (Athletics & Recreation Complex)
Coverage: Live Video/Stats/Audio
 
Opponent: Saint Xavier
Date: Saturday, November 9
Time: 5 p.m. EST
Location: Palos Heights, Ill. (Athletics & Recreation Complex)
Coverage: Live Video/Stats/Audio
 
Last Week Recap 
Cornerstone opened the home season as they hosted the Cornerstone Classic this past weekend and split with a win over Grace Christian and a loss to No. 4 Morningside. The Golden Eagles are now 2-2 on the year as they play their first teams who are not nationally ranked at the NAIA/NCCAA levels this weekend at the Troll Classic. Cornerstone opens the Troll Classic against the host Trinity Christian at 9 p.m. EST on Friday night, and follows that with a game against Saint Xavier on Saturday at 5 p.m. EST. 
 
Hayes Double-Double 
Redshirt-junior Kyle Hayes recorded the Golden Eagles first double-double of the 2019-20 season with 11 points and 14 rebounds vs. Grace Christian in the home opener on Friday night. This was Hayes first career double-double as he tallied a career high 14 boards in the dominating win. Hayes is averaging a team third best 9.8 PPG and a team high 7.5 RPG through the first four contests of 2019-20. He is also the first player to record a double-double since Sam Vander Sluis tallied 32 in the 2018-19 season. 
 
Block Party
Cornerstone has been one of the best teams in the country in the early season in blocks, recording an NAIA DII fourth best 20 so far this season. Freshman Cory Ainsworth has come off the bench to record a team high nine, while redshirt-junior Kyle Hayes has seven of his own. 
 
Long Time No See
Cornerstone returns to the Troll Classic for the first time since in 11 years as they have not faced CCAC foes Trinity Christian or Saint Xavier since November of 2008. Head Coach Kim Elders dominated these two teams in the earlier stages of his career as he has never lost to Trinity Christian and only lost once to Saint Xavier in 15 meetings with the two squads combined over the past 26 years. 
 
Scouting Trinity Christian
The Trolls have started the season 2-1 with wins over Wright State Lake and Evangel University. Offense has not been a problem for TCC in the early going scoring 85+ points and shooting 40+% from the field in both of their wins. The Trolls have been pesky defensively as well as their athletic, guard heavy team has held their first two opponents to just 23.8% from behind the arc. Senior 6-1 forward Josh Shannon has led Trinity Christian in the early going, posting a season best 14.7 PPG and 8.7 RPG.
 
Scouting St. Xavier
SXU has had a strong start to the year going 2-0 and scoring 90+ points in both of their wins. Both Josh Niego and Joshua Evans have an average above 20.0 points per game as the Cougars are led by strong guard play. SXU plays a very small starting lineup with four of their five starters being under 6-5. St. Xavier relies on their athleticism and offensive prowess to win games as they are shooting 55.6% from the field in their first two games. 
 
 
Men's Basketball Contact: Jesse Campbell
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