Men's Basketball Notes: Southwest Baptist

Southwest Baptist (6-4, 0-2 MIAA)
@ TRUMAN (3-6, 1-1 MIAA)

Wednesday, Dec. 7, 7:30 pm
Pershing Arena; Kirksville, Mo.

Audio: 104.7 FM – KRES (Moberly, Mo.); Also streamed online at CentralMOInfo.com
Video: Link Available at TrumanBulldogs.com
Live Stats: Link Available at TrumanBulldogs.com

PDF Notes

Game Preview:
The Truman men's basketball team will try to put back-to-back conference wins together on Wednesday night when the Bulldogs host Southwest Baptist at 7:30 pm in Pershing Arena.

The Bulldogs, 3-6 overall and 1-1 in MIAA play, are coming off a 66-57 victory on Saturday afternoon against Pittsburg State in Kirksville. Freshman Seth Jackson scored 17 points and added 10 rebounds off the bench for the 'Dogs, who shot 51% from the floor as a team and held PSU to just 36% overall and 22% from long-range.

SBU, meanwhile, comes to Kirksville 0-2 in conference play following a 6-2 start to the season in non-conference play. The Bearcats opened the MIAA slate with a 75-70 loss at Central Missouri last Wednesday before being stunned at home on Saturday by Lincoln, 72-67.

The Bulldogs and Bearcats will be meeting for the 46^th time in the all-time series, with SBU holding a 27-18 edge. The Bearcats have an 8-4 lead in the most recent 12 meetings, while Truman possesses a 13-10 lead in games playing all-time in Kirksville, including an 80-68 win on Feb. 5, 2011 last season.

Last Time Out:
at TRUMAN 66, Pittsburg State 57
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - The Truman Men's Basketball team withstood the Pittsburg State University pressure and Seth Jackson scored 17 points as the Bulldogs evened their MIAA record at 1-1 with a 66-57 win over the Gorillas in Pershing Arena.

The two teams traded the lead early on with Pitt (5-3, 1-1 MIAA) taking their largest lead at just four points with 13:55 left in the first half before Marek Bush sparked the Bulldogs (3-6, 1-1 MIAA) on a 16-0 run that essentially put the game out of reach. Bush scored two straight hoops to start the run and Patrick Burmester added another four points to sandwich a pair of three-pointers by Andrew Vander Zwaag and EJ Hicks during the run.

The Gorillas cut it to four just before the end of the half and two with the first possession of the second half but Mike Carlson got a basket and Seth Jackson punched in a pair of free throws to establish the lead for Truman.

Jackson later scored four in-a-row to put Truman back up by 11 with 6:34 left.

JaVon McGee got a steal and a layup to trim the margin to six but that was as close as the Gorillas would get in the final 4:31 as Jackson answered the make with his team high 17^th point of the night.

Mike Carlson and Burmester also scored 10 apiece as Truman shot 51% from the field for the game and made 22-of-30 free throws for a 73% showing.

McGee paced the Gorillas with 15 points but as a team, Pittsburg shot just 36% and were 4-of-18 from beyond the arc.

A Fast Check of the Regulars:
·       Junior guard Tom Norton is the team's leading scorer at 13.1 points per game, headlining four players in double-figures. He has made 22 triples this season and is 28-for-30 (93%) from the free throw line.
·       Redshirt freshman Mike Carlson is averaging 11.3 points and a team-high 4.7 rebounds per game and is one of just two players to start all nine games. He is shooting 44% from the floor and has added four blocks.
·       Freshman Seth Jackson, at 10.6 ppg overall, is the team's leading scorer in conference games, averaging 14.0 ppg through the first two games. He is averaging a shade more than 20 minutes per game, is 52% from the floor and 21-for-23 (91%) from the line.
·       Junior transfer EJ Hicks is averaging a flat 10.0 points per game and is shooting 52% from the floor. He ranks second on the team in assists (19) and third in rebounds (34) while co-leading the squad in steals (8).
·       Sophomore guard Isaac Gardner has dropped 20 triples and is averaging 8.4 points per game. He is second on the team in rebounding at 4.1 per game and is shooting 41% from the floor.
·       Freshman center Patrick Burmester has started all nine games and is averaging 5.2 ppg and 3.6 rpg. He leads the squad with seven blocks and is shooting 55% from the floor.
·       Freshmen Andrew Vander Zwaag (4.8 ppg, nine three-pointers) and Tyler Anderson (1.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg) have missed just one game between them this season.
·       Sophomore Marek Bush has played in all nine games, averaging more than 17 minutes per night. He is the team-leader on the offensive glass (15) and is averaging 3.4 ppg.

Bulldog Tip-Ins:
·       The Bulldogs are 3-6 (1-1 MIAA) in 2011-12 after going 7-19 (5-17) last year.
·       Truman is shooting 44.9% from the field as a team, including 35.7% (66-for-185) from three-point range.
·       The Bulldogs are connecting at a 70.5% (129-for-183) mark from the free throw line.
·       Truman is out-rebounding opponents by a +0.3 margin (33.6-33.3).
·       The Bulldogs have scored the exact same number of points (621; 69.0/gm) as their opponents but are shooting 2.6% better.
·       Tom Norton and Seth Jackson have combined to shoot 49-for-53 (92.5%) from the line this year, placing them both in the MIAA's top-5.
·       After opening the season with six games with eight three-pointers or more, the Bulldogs have hit just ten total in their last three games. However, in that stretch, the 'Dogs have gotten to the free throw line an average of 24.7 times per game – hitting 72%.
·       The Bulldogs have had four 20-point scoring nights this season, led by Tom Norton's 27 at Grand View and Seth Jackson's 25 against Central Christian.
·       Truman has out-scored its opponents 354-326 in the second half this season.

Scouting the Bearcats:
Never ones shy to fire from three-point range, this year's Southwest Baptist group might top even the most recent Bearcat versions as SBU (6-4, 0-2 MIAA) having 49.7% of its total shots coming from distance. That mark is even higher through the first two MIAA games, checking in at 53.7%, including 44 3FG attempts (of 64 total FG attempts) in a five-point loss to Lincoln on Saturday.

Four players are averaging double-figures, led by Ryan Dougherty's 15.4 points per night. He has 27 made triples on the season, five behind team-leader Preston Guiot, who checks in at 14.8 ppg. The Bearcats are shooting 46% overall, 36% from three-point range and 71% from the charity stripe, while also out-rebounding teams by nearly two per game.

Jeff Guiot is in his eighth season at the helm of the men's basketball program at SBU.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs head to Washburn University on Saturday afternoon for a 3:30 pm showdown with the 5-3 (0-1 MIAA) Ichabods. WU travels to Fort Hays State on Wednesday night before Saturday's game.

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