Men's Basketball 12/8/2011 3:15:00 PM Tyler Madsen, Truman Athletics

Men's Basketball Notes: at Washburn

TRUMAN (4-6, 2-1 MIAA)
@ Washburn (6-3, 1-1 MIAA)

Saturday, Dec. 10, 3:30 pm
Lee Arena; Topeka, Kan.

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:
Coming off back-to-back home conference wins, the Truman men's basketball team will try to make it three straight when it heads to Topeka, Kan., this Saturday for a 3:30 pm showdown at Washburn University.

The Bulldogs, 4-6 overall and 2-1 in MIAA play, are searching for their first Div. II road win of the 2011-12 campaign, after most recently falling at Missouri Southern on Nov. 30 to open MIAA action. Since then, however, Truman has handled business at home, dispatching Pittsburg State 66-57 before holding on against Southwest Baptist for an 80-79 win on Wednesday night.

Truman will face a Washburn squad that is fresh off a 61-45 win at No. 10 Fort Hays State on Wednesday night. The Ichabods are 6-3 overall and 1-1 in the MIAA.

The Bulldogs and Ichabods will be meeting for the 56^th time, with WU holding a 38-17 edge dating back to the first ever meeting in 1956. The Truman program has struggled in Topeka throughout the years, mustering just a 3-25 record on the road against the Ichabods that includes five straight Washburn wins in Lee Arena. Truman's last win in Topeka came on Jan. 28, 2006 – an 81-72 Bulldog victory behind 16 points from Derek Lindsey and 15 each by Andy Calmes and Grant Agbo.

The Ichabods have won eight of the last 12 overall meetings with the squads splitting games last season – each winning on their home court.

Last Time Out:
at TRUMAN 80, Southwest Baptist 79
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - Mike Carlson scored a team-high 21 points and Isaac Gardner added 18 points on six three-pointers to help the Truman men's basketball team win its second straight MIAA game with an 80-79 home thriller against Southwest Baptist on Wednesday night.

Carlson scored 12 of his 21 in the second half, as Truman (4-6, 2-1 MIAA) held off a furious SBU (6-5, 0-3 MIAA) rally late to pick up win No. 2 in league play. The Bulldogs blitzed the visiting Bearcats in the first half to the tune of 48 points and 56% shooting to carry a 15-point lead into the intermission. Gardner was lights-out in the opening 20 minutes, draining all six three-pointers he took to help spearhead the Bulldogs' highest first-half point total of the 2011-2012 campaign to-date.

The Bulldogs slowed down a bit in the second half, while SBU began to knock down some of its 33 total three-point attempts behind Kyle Sloan's game-high 29 points and four second-half triples. After the Bearcats cut the Bulldog lead to nine on four different occasions, SBU finally got it down to five with 48 seconds to play at 76-71. The margin would get as few as two at 78-76 on a Robson Menmon lay-up before Tom Norton hit one of two from the line to push the lead back to three with 15 seconds on the clock.

Carlson came through with a big block on a SBU three-point attempt with eight seconds left, then reeled in a defensive rebound on a second SBU jumper to go to the line with just one second to go.

The redshirt freshman split his attempts but then committed a foul on a heave by SBU's Ryan Dougherty, sending him to the line with 0.9 seconds on the clock. Dougherty hit the first two but then saw his third attempt rattle home, cutting any chance for a tip-in and allowing the 'Dogs to run out the clock and hold on for the victory.

Carlson and Gardner were the lone Bulldogs in double-figures on the night, but five other players scored at least six points for the purple and white. Junior EJ Hicks added eight points and four rebounds, while Patrick Burmester chipped in seven points, seven rebounds, three assists and a pair of blocks. Norton finished with nine points and three assists off the bench, and Seth Jackson added seven and three assists.

With the win, the Bulldogs earned back-to-back MIAA victories for the first time since Jan. 9-12, 2008 when the squad won at Fort Hays before returning home for a win against Missouri Western.

A Fast Check of the Regulars:
·       Junior guard Tom Norton is the team's leading scorer at 12.7 points per game, headlining three players in double-figures. He has made 24 triples this season and is 31-for-36 (86%) from the free throw line.
·       Redshirt freshman Mike Carlson is averaging 12.3 points and a team-high 4.7 rebounds per game. He is just one of just two players to start all ten games. He is shooting 47% from the floor and has added six blocks.
·       Freshman Seth Jackson, at 10.1 ppg overall, is the team's leading scorer in conference games, averaging 11.7 ppg through the first three MIAA games. He is averaging 20.3 minutes per game, is 51% from the floor and 22-for-26 (85%) from the line.
·       Junior transfer EJ Hicks is averaging 9.8 points per game and is shooting 49% from the floor. He ranks third on the team in assists (23) and fourth in rebounds (38) while co-leading the squad in steals (9).
·       Sophomore guard Isaac Gardner has dropped 26 triples and is averaging 9.4 points per game. He is tied for second on the team in rebounding at 4.0 per game and is shooting 45% from the floor.
·       Freshman center Patrick Burmester has started all ten games and is averaging 5.4 ppg and 3.9 rpg. He leads the squad with nine blocks and is shooting 57% from the floor.
·       Freshmen Andrew Vander Zwaag (4.3 ppg, 9 three-pointers) and Tyler Anderson (1.9 ppg, 2.2 rpg) have missed just one game between them this season.
·       Sophomore Marek Bush has played in all ten games, averaging nearly 17 minutes per game. He is the team-leader on the offensive glass (18) and is averaging 3.7 ppg.

Bulldog Tip-Ins:
·       The Bulldogs are 4-6 (2-1 MIAA) in 2011-12 after going 7-19 (5-17) last year.
·       Truman is shooting 45.6% from the field as a team, including 37.4% (77-for-206) from three-point range.
·       The Bulldogs are connecting at a 70.1% (148-for-211) mark from the free throw line.
·       Truman is out-rebounding opponents by a +0.2 margin (33.5-33.3).
·       The Bulldogs have scored one more point (701-700) than their opponents but are shooting 3.2% better.
·       Wednesday night's 48-point first half against SBU was the highest first-half output this season.
·       The last time the Bulldogs won two straight in MIAA play was Jan. 9-12, 2008. Truman hasn't won three straight in MIAA play since Jan. 28-Feb. 4, 2006 (Washburn, Northwest Missouri, Emporia State).
·       The Bulldogs have had six different players lead them in scoring this season.
·       Isaac Gardner became only the third player in program history to post a 1.000% mark with six (or more) three-point attempts in a single-game with his 6-for-6 night against SBU on Wednesday.
· The Bulldogs have had five 20-point scoring nights this season, led by Tom Norton's 27 at Grand View and Seth Jackson's 25 against Central Christian.

Scouting the Ichabods:
The Washburn Ichabods (6-3, 1-1 MIAA) enter Saturday afternoon's contest as winners of five of their last six games, including a 61-45 win at No. 10 Fort Hays State on Wednesday night. The team's MIAA loss was a six-point setback at Northwest Missouri State last Saturday.

WU is led offensively by Will McNeill's 19.6 points per game average. Also the team leader in rebounding at 6.2 per contest, McNeill is shooting 49% from the floor and 78% from the free throw line. Martin Mitchell is the only other 'Bod in double-figures offensively, scoring 12.9 points per game.

As a team, the Ichabods are shooting at a 45% clip from the field, but in stark contrast to Wednesday night's Truman matchup with SBU, Washburn has made just 44 three-pointers on the season 4.9/game) but is outrebounding opponents by nearly six boards per game.

Bob Chipman is in his 33^rd season at the helm of the men's basketball program at WU and recently won his 700^th career game.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs are off during the upcoming week for finals but hit the hardwood again next Saturday (Dec. 17) at 4:30 pm in Emporia, Kan., to take on the Emporia State Hornets. The Hornets (5-3, 1-1 MIAA) host Central Missouri this Saturday before also partaking in finals prior to next Saturday.

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