Full Notes (PDF)
Season Schedule
KIRKSVILLE - - The Truman men's basketball team will look to make it two in a row on Tuesday night when the Bulldogs battle Hannibal-LaGrange (Mo.) at 7:30 pm in Pershing Arena.
Truman (1-1) has been off for eight days following a 90-59 win against Culver-Stockton (Mo.) College in the home opener on Nov. 15. Senior Alex Henderson logged a career-high 24 points and added six assists, as the Bulldogs used a 22-2 run over the first ten minutes of the second half to pull away from the CSC Wildcats.
Tuesday night's opponent – the HLG Trojans – enter the contest with a 2-5 overall record, which does not include an exhibition loss to the only other Div. II team on its schedule – Quincy (Ill.) University. The Hawks defeated HLG 101-54 on Nov. 16.
All-time, the Bulldogs are 10-4 against the Trojans, including an 89-74 win last December in Kirksville. Five Bulldogs finished in double-figures, led by 18 from Henderson and 15 by now-sophomore guard Tom Norton. Truman shot 51% from the floor in that contest.
Media Information:
104.7 FM KRES is the official radio home of Truman football, men's basketball and women's basketball. Brad Boyer, Hank Janssen, Kevin White and Tyler Madsen will provide coverage throughout the season of Truman basketball on the Moberly-based station.
KRES broadcasts its sports coverage online at centralmoinfo.com. Fans can also watch MIAA games on their computer this season through AmericaOne/B2 Networks for a fee.
Live stats for all Bulldog games throughout the season will be made available via links on the men's basketball schedule page at TrumanBulldogs.com.
About the 'Dogs:
Truman has yet to face a Division II opponent this season through two games, having opened at Div. I UMKC on Friday, Nov. 12 before returning home for its first of two straight games against NAIA competition on Monday, Nov. 15 against Culver-Stockton. The 'Dogs will finally jump into Div. II play this Saturday when they travel to Quincy University.
The Bulldogs are averaging 74.5 points per game so far this season, led by senior guard Alex Henderson's 19.5 points per game average. Sophomore guard Tom Norton is adding 13.5 points per game, while senior forward Ethan Freeman's 9.5 points per game average is supplemented by a team-best 7.0 rebounds per game. Truman has started the same five in each of the first two games, with the above three joined by senior guard Stefan Garrison (5.0 ppg, 3.0 rpg) and junior center Vesko Filchev (6.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg).
As a squad, Truman is shooting 45.5% from the field and nearly 40% from the three-point line, with 19 three-pointers in two games. The Bulldogs have struggled from the charity stripe early on, going 18-for-29 (62.1%).
Head coach Jack Schrader is in his 16th season with the program and has a career record of 159-256.
Henderson Off to Fast Start:
Senior guard Alex Henderson has started his final season with a bang, averaging nearly 20 points per game while shooting 54% from the field. The Willard, Mo., native has also hit six three pointers on just ten attempts, while pulling in 4.5 rebounds and dishing out 4.0 assists per contest.
He scored a career-high 24 points on 8-of-12 shooting against Culver-Stockton last Monday (Nov. 15) night and was the program's nominee for MIAA Athlete of the Week.
Scouting the Trojans:
Hannibal-LaGrange has opened its 2010-2011 season with a 2-5 record in countable games, with one loss coming last Tuesday night to Quincy. QU counted the game as its season-opener, while HLG marked the affair as an exhibition.
In that game, HLG fell 101-54 to the host-Hawks, and were led by Brock Webber's 15 points and Josh Boswell's ten. In the team's last three games, Boswell has been a model of consistency by reaching double-figures each time, while Fernando Fernandez has been on a tear under the boards, grabbing 17 against Grand View (Iowa) University on Nov. 20 and averaging 11.0 per game over the last three games.
Jason Durst is in his sixth season as the head men's basketball coach at HLG.
MIAA Preseason Polls:
The Bulldogs were picked to finish 11th in both the coaches' and media's annual preseason polls, released prior to the start of exhibition play. Truman earned 22 points in the coaches' poll and 36 points in the media poll, and were sandwiched between 10th-place Pittsburg State and 12th-place and MIAA-newcomer Lincoln in each set of predictions.
Fort Hays State (coaches) and Central Missouri (media) were selected as the preseason favorites.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs travel to face Quincy (Ill.) University, an NCAA tournament participant in 2009-2010, on Saturday (Nov. 27) evening at 7:30 pm. QU is 2-0 on the season and hosts Missouri Western on Tuesday night prior to Thanksgiving.
