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KIRKSVILLE - - The Truman men's basketball team will be going after its ninth straight win against Lincoln (Mo.) University and fourth straight in Jefferson City's Jason Gym on Wednesday night, as the Bulldogs and Blue Tigers prepare for a 7:30 pm contest.
Truman (7-17, 5-15 MIAA) led nearly the entire way in its last game – a 91-79 road win at Missouri Western on Saturday night – to snap a four-game losing streak and pick up its first road win of the season. The Bulldogs look to build on that momentum against Lincoln (2-22, 0-20 MIAA), a squad that's in search of its first conference win with two to play.
Earlier this year, the Bulldogs handed the Blue Tigers an 83-79 setback in Pershing Arena on Feb. 15. In that game, five Bulldogs scored in double-figures, led by Vesko Filchev's 18. Truman held Lincoln's top scorer, Pierre DeClue, to just nine points, but two others – Marquez Davis and Cedric Ridle Jr. – teamed up for 56 of the team's 79. Davis, however, has not suited up for the Blue Tigers since that contest.
Three to Track:
· 3-point shooting – Part 1: Lincoln ranks eighth in the MIAA, allowing teams to shoot 38% from long-range against them, while the Bulldogs are third in 3-point percentage and fourth in 3-pointers made.
· 3-point shooting – Part 2: In addition, the Blue Tigers are last in the MIAA in three-point percentage, while the Bulldog defense has been stifling at the perimeter (32.7%).
· Cleaning up the glass: The Bulldogs have the conference's top rebounder in senior Ethan Freeman, leading to a No. 2 ranking in the MIAA in defensive rebounds. Lincoln, however, is the MIAA's top team on the offensive glass, grabbing more than 13 per game.
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.
Dog Bites:
· Senior Ethan Freeman is averaging nearly a double-double on the season (11.9 ppg, 9.6 rpg) and is the MIAA's top rebounder (both total and defensive). He has 11 double-doubles on the season and has set new career-highs this year in points, rebounds and assists. Freeman has also been just short of the program's first triple-double in nearly 20 years three times this season, most recently ending one assist shy (13-13-9) at Missouri Western on Feb. 19.
· Senior Alex Henderson is the team's leading scorer at 14.3 ppg and has 18 double-figure games this year. He has hit 47 3-pointers at a 40% clip and is a 78% free throw shooter. He set a new career-high with 26 points against Nebraska-Omaha on Feb. 12 and topped the 20-point mark for the fifth time this year in that outing.
· Sophomore Tom Norton is third on the team in scoring at 10.3 ppg and has drained a team-high 59 3-pointers this season. He also set a career-high in points (21) against Nebraska-Omaha on Feb. 12, doing so off the bench.
· Junior Vesko Filchev is fourth on the team in scoring, checking in at 9.7 ppg. He is shooting 52% from the field and leads the squad with 22 blocked shots. Vesko has also recorded four double-doubles this year, most recently against Missouri Western on Feb. 19.
· Freshman Isaac Gardner leads the MIAA in three-point shooting percentage (44.6%) and is averaging 6.9 points per game. He has started two times this season and is averaging more than 17 minutes per game.
· Senior Stefan Garrison has started 18 of 22 games this year and is averaging 4.2 points per game. He has two double-figure scoring games this season and will play in his 100th career game on Wednesday.
· Freshman Pat Sodemann scored a career-high 18 points in Truman's Feb. 5 win against Southwest Baptist and is averaging 4.8 points per game. He is one of just five Bulldogs to play in all 24 games this season and is 26-for-30 (87%) from the free throw line.
· Senior Brian Nwelue ranks second on the team in blocks with 14 and is one of the squad's top defenders. He has pulled down 23 offensive rebounds and is averaging 3.0 points per game.
History in the Making:
Seniors Ethan Freeman and Alex Henderson will try to accomplish what no two players have done before in Truman history – reach the 1,000 point career point mark in the same game. Freeman (996 career points) and Henderson (992 career points) are on pace to become the 23rd and 24th players in Truman history to reach the milestone and will become the first teammates to hit the mark in the same season since 2007, when Andy Calmes, Austin Kirby and Grant Agbo all hit 1,000 points.
Nick Certa (2008) was the last player to hit 1,000 as a Bulldog, finishing his career with 1,083. Steve Liford (1985-88) is 22nd all-time in program scoring with 1,017.
Free Throw Extravaganza:
Truman has taken 546 free throws (22.8 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.
Bombs Away:
The Bulldogs tied a season-high with 12 three-pointers made in the Feb. 19 win at Missouri Western. Truman is 4-0 this season when hitting ten or more triples in a game.
A Check of the Blue Tigers:
The Blue Tigers are searching for their first MIAA win of the season, having lost 20 straight dating back to a Nov. 29 win against Rockhurst. Leading the squad offensively is Pierre DeClue (16.9 ppg), followed by Cedric Ridle Jr. (10.7 ppg). The Nos. 3 and 4 scorers have not played since the Jan. 15 game at Truman.
Lincoln is shooting 40% from the field but is allowing foes to connect at a 51% rate.
John Redmond is the head coach at LU and is in his second year with the program. He has a 7-44 record at the school.
Earlier This Year:
(Jan. 15) KIRKSVILLE - - Five players reached double-figures, and the Truman men's basketball team took advantage of 41 free throw attempts and 15 offensive rebounds to outlast Lincoln (Mo.) University, 83-79, on Saturday afternoon in Pershing Arena. Senior Ethan Freeman scored 15 points and pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs with a double-double.
In a game that featured just one instance of a double-digit lead for either team, the Bulldogs (5-9, 3-7 MIAA) drained six second-half three-pointers to counter a pair of 25-plus point outings by Lincoln's (2-12, 0-10 MIAA) Cedric Ridle Jr. and Marquez Davis.
Truman trailed by five, 17-12, with 12:27 to play in the first half before the team scored five straight to knot the game at 17 apiece. The teams never got more than a single field goal away from each other until a 13-3 run by the 'Dogs that spanned three minutes opened up a 38-28 cushion with 3:18 left in the opening 20 minutes. Junior Vesko Filchev scored ten first-half points, while Freeman nearly reached double-double status with nine points and nine rebounds in 19 minutes.
But the Blue Tigers began to chip away in the second half, leaning on Ridle Jr. (29 total points) and Davis (27 points) to draw even at 63-all with 7:58 to play. A quick rebuttal three-pointer by guard Alex Henderson gave the Bulldogs a lead they would eventually never surrender.
Truman again had to hold off a late flurry by Lincoln, as the visiting Blue Tigers drew within two, 81-79, with 14 seconds to play, but two free throws by guard Tom Norton iced the game away and gave Truman both its fifth total and fifth home win of the 2010-2011 campaign.
Filchev led all Bulldogs with 18 points in just 20 minutes due to foul trouble against the smaller Blue Tigers, with Freeman adding 15, Henderson chipping in 14 and both Norton and Isaac Gardner pouring in 11. The 'Dogs shot 43% (24-for-56) for the game and 8-of-26 from long-range, while totaling a 27-for-41 (65.9%) mark from the free throw line. The 41 attempts were the most by a Bulldog unit in more than 12 years, dating back to a 45-attempt game against Graceland (Iowa) on Nov. 24, 1998.
Freeman earned 18 chances from the stripe, the second-most by a Bulldog in single-game program history.
The senior forward also added to his MIAA lead on the defensive glass, reeling in ten Lincoln misses, while Gardner registered his new career-high with eight (five offensive).
Up Next:
The Bulldogs will close their 2010-2011 season on Saturday afternoon when the squad welcomes Central Missouri to Pershing Arena for Senior Day at 3:00 pm. Truman will recognize its seven seniors – Ethan Freeman, Brian Nwelue, Andrew James, Stefan Garrison, Alex Henderson, Mark Misiewicz and David Scott – prior to tipoff.
