Full Notes (PDF)
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KIRKSVILLE - - A rare Sunday game appears on the docket for the Truman men's basketball team, as the Bulldogs head to Emporia (Kan.) State this weekend for a showdown with the Hornets at White Auditorium. Sunday's tipoff is set for 3:00 pm.
The Bulldogs (5-11, 3-9 MIAA) are coming off their best defensive performance of the MIAA season, holding Pittsburg (Kan.) State to 58 points on Wednesday night in a two-point loss to the Gorillas. Both teams turned up the defensive intensity in a grinder-style contest, as the units combined for just 38 made field goals and six three-pointers.
Emporia State (10-9, 7-6 MIAA) is one of six teams lumped in a logjam between fourth and ninth place in the conference, as the Hornets have dropped five of their last seven to even out a 5-1 start to conference play. ESU lost a 74-68 decision at Missouri Western on Wednesday night in the final game of a three-game road trip.
Three to Track:
· Rebounding I (Freeman vs. ESU) – Ethan Freeman, Truman's leading rebounder, takes his MIAA-best 9.8 rpg (10.0 in MIAA-only games) against an ESU team that is the worst rebounding unit in the conference.
· Rebounding II (Second chances) – The Bulldogs are the second-best defensive rebounding team, giving up an offensive rebound on just one of four chances, while ESU pulls in less than eight offensive boards per game, last in the MIAA.
· Finding the bucket – Emporia and Truman both average 70 points per game (10th and 11th in the MIAA respectively), and both allow teams to shoot at a 45% clip.
Media Information:
104.7 FM KRES is the official radio home of Truman football, men's basketball and women's basketball. Brad Boyer and Hank Janssen 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.
Earlier This Year:
Dec. 18 (KIRKSVILLE) – A go-ahead, second-chance three-pointer with ten seconds to play in overtime helped Emporia State overcome a 19-point second-half Bulldog lead, as the Truman men's basketball team fell, 74-71, on Saturday night in Pershing Arena.
A lay-up with 16:14 to play in the game gave Truman (3-6, 1-4 MIAA) a 50-31 lead, but the Hornets (7-4, 4-1 MIAA) slowly began to chip away. The 'Dogs continued to lead by as many as 16, 52-36, with 13:24 left; however, ESU rattled off a 20-5 run to pull within one at 60-59 at the 6:26 mark.
Truman held off the pesky Hornets for nearly four minutes, getting a free throw by Ethan Freeman and a jumper by Stefan Garrison, but ESU finally jumped ahead by one, 64-63, off a Michael Tyler basket with 2:31 left.
Garrison responded with a three to put Truman ahead again, but Tyler laid it in on the other end to knot the score at 66. Neither team was able to convert the rest of the way, with an Alex Henderson three-pointer missing at the buzzer to send the teams to overtime.
The teams traded points at the outset, with a pair of Henderson free throws putting Truman ahead, 70-69, with 38 seconds to play in the extra frame. After a missed ESU three-pointer, Marek Bush hit one of two free throws to give Truman a 71-69 edge with 25 seconds to play.
Matt Boswell missed a shot on the other end, but the rebound went right to Taylor Euler, who fed Robert Moores for a three-pointer and a one point ESU edge, 72-71.
Truman looked to push the tempo, but Tom Norton's pass was too far ahead of Henderson and went out of bounds for the Bulldogs' tenth turnover of the night. After two Jarvis Nichols free throws put the Hornets ahead by three, Henderson's desperation three was off-line as the buzzer sounded at 74-71.
Henderson scored 22 points, aided by a 12-for-13 effort at the charity stripe, while Garrison and Ethan Freeman added 11 apiece. Truman shot 37% from the floor for the night, but was just 7-for-25 from long-range. The Bulldogs did convert from the line at a 74% (20-for-27) rate.
Michael Tyler came off the bench to score a career-high 22 for ESU on 8-of-8 shooting. Matt Boswell chipped in a ten-point, ten-rebound double-double.
Career Numbers to Watch:
· Ethan Freeman (912 points) needs to average 9.8 ppg over the final nine games to become the 23rd player in the 1,000-point club.
· Freeman (701 rebounds) is 10th all-time at Truman … next: Floyd McMillon (9th; 714), Erik Hansen (8th; 730).
· Freeman (240 free throws) is 9th all-time at Truman … next: Larry Swift (8th; 241), David Wild (7th; 258).
· Alex Henderson (891 points) needs to average 12.1 ppg over the final nine games to become the 23rd player in the 1,000-point club.
· Henderson (131 3-ptrs) is 10th all-time at Truman … next: Chip Sodemann (9th; 135), Jiri Mikl (8th; 154).
· Henderson (226 free throws) … to crack top-10: Terry Bussard (10th; 238).
· Vesko Filchev (66 blocks) is 9th all-time at Truman … next: Brian Brown (8th; 67), Rick Rigsbee (7th; 69).
'Dog Bites:
· Senior Ethan Freeman is averaging nearly a double-double on the season (11.9 ppg, 9.8 rpg) and is the MIAA's top rebounder (both total and defensive). He has eight double-doubles on the season and has set new career-highs this year in points, rebounds and assists.
· Senior Alex Henderson is the team's leading scorer at 14.2 ppg and has 13 double-figure games this year. He has hit 31 3-pointers at a 39.2% clip and is averaging 3.0 assists per game.
· Junior Vesko Filchev is third on the team in scoring at 9.4 ppg. He is shooting 55% from the field and leads the squad with 16 blocked shots.
· Sophomore Tom Norton has a team-high 39 3-pointers to rank fourth on the squad offensively at 9.3 ppg. He is also 31-for-35 from the free throw line this year and is a 91% free throw shooter. Norton hit 31 in a row during his freshman season.
· Senior Stefan Garrison and senior Brian Nwelue each started Wednesday night against PSU. Together, they average nearly eight points and four rebounds per game.
· The Truman bench is averaging 24 points per game, thanks in part to the effort of two freshmen – Isaac Gardner and Pat Sodemann. Gardner is one of the MIAA's best 3-point shooters at 48% and is scoring 7.8 ppg, while Sodemann has shot 48% overall and is 83% from the free throw line.
A Look at the Hornets:
ESU welcomes Truman to White Auditorium, a place where the black and gold Hornets have seen success this season – posting a 7-2 overall record.
The Hornets have four players averaging double-figures, led by Xavier Burnette's 14.1 ppg. Adam Holthaus (11.7), Michael Tyler (11.3) and Matt Boswell (10.9) provide additional support for an ESU squad that shoots 46% from the floor overall, 36% from 3-point range and 71% from the free throw line.
Emporia has a top-5 MIAA ranking in 3-point defense (4th) but are last in team rebounding.
The Hornets are coached by David Moe, who is in his 10th season with the program. He has a career record of 156-121.
Notably vs. the Hornets:
· Alex Henderson boasts the top career scoring numbers vs. ESU (10.9 ppg). He has also hit 27-of-30 free throws in seven games.
· Ethan Freeman averages 8.0 points and 6.9 rebounds per game, while Vesko Filchev is averaging 9.0 ppg and 4.6 rpg.
· Tom Norton has hit five 3-pointers against ESU and is averaging 8.3 ppg in three games.
“Playin' (On a Sunday Afternoon)”:
Since 2005, the Bulldogs have played five times on Sundays – mostly coming in Quincy, Ill., as part of the annual Quincy Classic. Two times have been MIAA contests, including two years ago in Emporia – an 87-63 Hornet win on Super Bowl Sunday (Feb. 1, 2008).
Free Throw Extravaganza:
Truman has taken 384 free throws (22.6 per game) this season, up from last season's 16.4 per game, and most since the 1999-2000 team's 24.2 attempts per game average.
Nine is the Loneliest Number:
The Bulldogs are 3-0 this season when hitting at least 10 three-pointers in a game. Ten has proven to be the magic number, as Truman is 0-4 when hitting precisely nine.
Up Next:
The Bulldogs wrap up a stretch of four road games out of five with a trip to Topeka, Kan., on Wednesday night. Truman will go for the season sweep of Washburn, who is third in the MIAA and ninth in the South Central region at 7:30 pm on Feb. 2.
