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KIRKSVILLE - - The Truman men's basketball defense, which has held opponents to just 63 points per game in the past three contests, will be put to the test this weekend against two of the MIAA's top offenses, as the Bulldogs host No. 13 Fort Hays (Kan.) State on Thursday night before welcoming Nebraska-Omaha to Pershing Arena on Saturday afternoon.

 

Truman (6-13, 4-11 MIAA) started this current three-game home stretch with an 80-68 nearly wire-to-wire win against Southwest Baptist last Saturday to pull to within three games of the final slot in March's MIAA tournament in Kansas City. The Bulldogs have played their best basketball at home this season, posting a +7 scoring margin and holding opponents to just 41% from the floor en route to six wins.

 

The Bulldogs kick off a stretch of four games in seven days with the nationally-ranked Tigers (19-3, 13-3 MIAA), who sit one game back of Missouri Southern in the MIAA and fourth in the South Central region entering a road trip that sends them through Kirksville and Warrensburg. FHSU – the MIAA's top scoring team at 84.0 ppg – just concluded a three-game homestand of its own, closing with back-to-back wins against Missouri Western and Washburn last week.

 

Then, after playing the last midweek game on the MIAA docket, the Bulldogs turn around to open Saturday's conference play against the UNO Mavericks (13-7, 10-6 MIAA), who come in riding a three-game winning streak capped by a 26-point victory against Emporia State on Saturday. The Mavs are fourth in the league in scoring at 80.3 ppg.

 

Two of FHSU's losses have come on the road this season, while UNO is just 5-4 away from Sapp Fieldhouse in 2010-2011.

 

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 (Urbandale, Iowa) is averaging nearly a double-double on the season (11.3 ppg, 9.6 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 (Willard, Mo.) is the team's leading scorer at 14.7 ppg and has 15 double-figure games this year. He has hit 37 3-pointers at a 40.2% clip and is an 81% free throw shooter.

· Junior Vesko Filchev (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) is third on the team in scoring at 9.9 ppg. He is shooting 56% from the field and leads the squad with 17 blocked shots. Vesko has also recorded three double-doubles this year.

· Sophomore Tom Norton (Bloomington, Ill.) has a team-high 43 3-pointers to rank fourth on the squad offensively at 9.5 ppg. He is also 37-for-42 from the free throw line this year and is a 92% career free throw shooter. Norton hit 31 in a row during his freshman season.

· Senior Stefan Garrison (Osceola, Mo.) has started 15 of 19 games this year and is averaging 4.4 points per game. He has two double-figure scoring games this season.

· Senior Brian Nwelue (Lewisville, Texas) has started three of the last four games and is averaging 3.3 points per game on the year. He has swatted six shots in the last three games.

· The Truman bench is averaging 23.2 points per game, thanks in part to the effort of two freshmen – Isaac Gardner (Washington, Iowa) and Pat Sodemann (St. Louis, Mo.). Gardner is the MIAA's best 3-point shooters at 47% and is scoring 7.4 ppg, while Sodemann has shot 47% overall and is 92% from the free throw line, including a 10-for-10 effort against SBU.

 

A Look at the Tigers:

· Offense: 84.0 ppg, 52.0% FG, 41.0% 3FG, 70.3% FT

· Defense: 68.5 ppg, 40.6% FG, 29.9% 3FG, +5.1 rpg margin

· Top Players: Dominique Jones (17.5 ppg, 6.5 apg, 84.0% FT); Dijon Smith (14.4 ppg, 66% FG, 5.3 rpg)

· Head Coach: Mark Johnson (10^th season, 200-85 record)

 

A Look at the Mavericks:

· Offense: 80.3 ppg, 47.1% FG, 33.0% 3FG, 73.0% FT

· Defense: 77.4 ppg, 45.3% FG, 35.7% 3FG, -1.6 rpg margin

· Top Players: Tyler Bullock (18.8 ppg, 79% FT, 5.0 apg); Mitch Albers (17.3 ppg, 37 3FG, 83% FT)

· Head Coach: Derrin Hansen (6^th season, 104-66 record)

 

Earlier This Year:

(Jan. 3) HAYS, Kan. - - The No. 6 Fort Hays State University men's basketball team closed out the first half on a 26-12 run to pull away from Truman on Monday night, eventually handing the 'Dogs a 84-57 setback in Gross Memorial Coliseum.

 

Truman (3-7, 1-5 MIAA) never led in the game but trailed the 6^th-ranked Tigers by just five, 20-15, following an Ethan Freeman free throw at the 10:22 mark of the first half. But, from there it was all Tigers, as FHSU (11-1, 5-1 MIAA) opened up a 46-27 halftime lead before pushing it to 67-35 with 11:47 to play.

 

For the game, the Bulldogs shot the ball at a 40% (18-for-45) mark and went 17-for-25 (68%) from the free throw line. Truman hit just four three-pointers, more than five below its season average, and turned the ball over 15 times.

 

Freeman led all Bulldogs with 17 points and six rebounds, while Isaac Gardner came off the bench to drop a trio of three-pointers for nine total points.

 

Dominique Jones led FHSU with 23 points and seven assists, as the Tigers shot 56% from the field.

 

(Jan. 5) OMAHA, Neb. - - Senior Ethan Freeman tied his career-high with 23 points and pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds, but a second-half surge by the Nebraska-Omaha Mavericks sent the Bulldogs back to Kirksville on the losing end of an 83-70 decision on Wednesday night.

 

UNO (7-4, 4-3 MIAA) out-scored Truman 48-31 in the second half to turn a four-point Truman (3-8, 1-6 MIAA) halftime lead into a 13-point setback in Sapp Fieldhouse.

 

In a see-saw first half, the Bulldogs landed the first array of punches, scoring 14 in a row to turn a three-point lead into a 25-8 advantage during the game's first ten minutes. But UNO responded by tallying the next 12, cutting Truman's lead to five before eventually going ahead, 33-30. Truman, however, scored four straight to eventually carry a 39-35 lead into the intermission.

 

Freeman scored 13 points and pulled down eight rebounds to lead the 'Dogs in both categories during the first 20 minutes, while freshman Isaac Gardner drained three triples to add nine.

 

Nebraska-Omaha, though, came out of the blocks red-hot in the second half, building up a lead of eight at 57-49 through the first six and a half minutes. A Mitch Albers three-pointer pushed UNO's lead to 12, and, after the teams hovered around a double-digit margin for nearly four minutes, back-to-back deep threes by Norton cut UNO's advantage to 72-63 with 6:35 remaining.

 

But Truman went ice cold for the next four-plus minutes, not scoring a point to cut into the UNO advantage, before Freeman hit a free throw at the 2:59 mark. That wasn't enough to get the 'Dog offense back on track though, as UNO held off the visiting purple and white for the 83-70 final.

 

Freeman finished with 23 points on 6-of-11 shooting and a 10-for-15 effort from the charity stripe, while also reeling in 14 rebounds – all on the defensive glass. Three other players – Gardner, Norton and Vesko Filchev - finished with 11 points apiece, while both Alex Henderson and Pat Sodemann chipped in six each. Freeman led the 'Dogs with four assists, as Truman shot 40.7% (22-for-54) from the field as a team, including 9-for-27 from three-point range.

 

The 'Dogs were out-rebounded, 46-31, while each team committed nine turnovers. UNO was led offensively by Albers' 24 points, with Tyler Bullock adding 21.

 

Henderson's Turn for 100:

Following Ethan Freeman's 100^th career game on Saturday, fellow senior Alex Henderson will hit the 100 career games played mark against FHSU on Thursday night. He has started 66 of the 99 games played in his career.

 

Free Throw Extravaganza:

Truman has taken 435 free throws (22.9 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.

 

Up Next:

The Bulldogs hit the road for four straight, starting with a Monday/Wednesday trip to Washburn (Kan.) and Northwest Missouri. Tipoff on both nights is set for 7:30 pm.