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Men's Basketball 12/10/2014 2:09:00 PM Tyler Madsen, Athletics Communications

MBB Notes: Bulldogs to Host Central Christian, Faith Baptist this Sat/Mon

Truman Men's Basketball Game Notes (December 13 & 15, 2014)
PDF Notes | 2014-15 Schedule | 2014-15 Statistics

Game #8: Truman (5-2, 1-0 GLVC) vs. Central Christian (Mo.) (3-8)

Date: Saturday, December 13, 2014 (6 p.m.)
Location: Kirksville, Mo. || Pershing Arena

Series Record: Truman leads, 8-0.
Series Record in Kirksville: Truman leads, 8-0.
Last Meeting: Nov. 11, 2014 || Truman won, 86-47 in Kirksville.
Series Streak: Truman, W-8

Game #9: Truman vs. Faith Baptist (Iowa) (5-2)

Date: Monday, December 15, 2014 (7 p.m.)
Location: Kirksville, Mo. || Pershing Arena

Series Record: Truman leads, 1-0.
Series Record in Kirksville: Truman leads, 1-0.
Last Meeting: Dec. 16, 2014 || Truman won, 95-48 in Kirksville.
Series Streak: Truman, W-1

Media Links: Live Stats || Live Audio || Live Video
Social Media: @TrumanAthletics || @TSUBulldogHoops || #TSUGameDay

Probable Starters

Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG	Extra
G	#2	Seth Jackson	6'4"	210	SR	23.7	3.6	1.1	GLVC leading scorer
G	#4	Reed Mells	5'11"	160	SR	13.7	3.6	3.3	28.1 min/gm; 14 stls
G	#22	Kyle Kanaskie	5'11"	180	SO	8.1	3.3	3.1	69% FG; 11 steals
C	#35	Patrick Burmester	6'9"	220	SR	4.9	4.1	0.6	24.1 min/gm; 3 blocks
F	#40	Billy Daniel	6'6"	200	SO	4.0	2.3	1.2	47% FG; 6 O-Reb

Off the Bench

Pos.	No.	Name	Ht.	Wt.	Yr.	PPG	RPG	APG	Extra
G	#3	Isaac Gardner	6'4"	195	r-SR	6.6	1.3	1.1	12 3FG (41%); 12 m/g
G	#10	Hank Mathews	6'2"	190	r-FR	4.5	1.5	0.5	2 GP
G	#11	Cole Myers	6'3"	200	JR	6.0	2.7	1.7	9 steals; 64% FG
G	#12	Cory Myers	6'3"	195	r-SO	4.6	2.1	1.7	53% FG; 100% FT; 5 stl
G	#13	Zach Fischer	6'4"	180	r-FR	5.0	1.5	0.0	2 GP
C	#24	Kiefer Starbird	6'10"	210	SO	2.0	0.5	1.0	2 GP
F	#25	Connor Lusso	6'6"	220	r-FR	1.0	3.0	0.5	2 GP
G	#30	Andrew Vander Zwaag	6'3"	200	JR	5.1	2.4	0.9	8 3FG, 6 Off. Rebs.
F	#32	Connor Erickson	6'8"	200	SO	4.1	2.3	0.1	9 Off. Rebs; 9.1 min/g
G/F	#1	Nikola Pesic	6'5"	190	FR	-	-	-	Probable redshirt
G	#5	Taurin Hughes	5'11"	185	FR	-	-	-	Probable redshirt
G	#20	Jack Green	6'3"	170	FR	-	-	-	Probable redshirt

Staff

Head Coach: Chris Foster
Career Record: 5-2 || .714 || 1^st season (all at Truman)
GLVC Record: 1-0 || 1.000 || 1^st season

Assistant Coach: Joe Barrer (1^st season)
Graduate Assistant Coach: Nik Koprivica (1^st season)
Athletic Trainer: Morgan Locher (1^st season)

Opening Tip:
With fall semester finals set to be in the rearview mirror by Saturday evening, the Truman men's basketball team will look to shake off a week's worth of rust in Pershing Arena with two games in three nights. The Bulldogs will take on Central Christian (Mo.) on Saturday at 6 p.m. before welcoming Faith Baptist (Iowa) on Monday at 7 p.m.

The Bulldogs (5-2, 1-0 GLVC) have now won four straight and continue to be just two possessions away from a perfect 7-0 start to the year, after averaging an even 100 points per game in two victories last week. Truman downed Lincoln Christian (Ill.) by a 109-44 score on Thursday (Dec. 4) night before picking up a win in its Great Lakes Valley Conference opener by a 91-76 score against Quincy on Saturday (Dec. 6) afternoon. The wins gave Truman its third and fourth in a row and helped send the Bulldogs through the rest of the calendar year as one of three GLVC West division teams to sit at 1-0 in league play.

Saturday and Monday nights will pit a pair of teams that the Bulldogs dispatched easily last season, as Truman defeated Central Christian by an 86-47 score and Faith Baptist by a 95-48 tally.

The Bulldogs are led by two players who are averaging double-figures offensively, including the GLVC's leading scorer – senior Seth Jackson. The St. Louis-native has topped the 20-point mark five times this year and is averaging 23.7 points per game, which is also good for 12^th-most in all of NCAA Div. II. Senior Reed Mells (13.7) joins Jackson with 10 or more points per game, while four other regulars are each averaging at least five points per contest.

Head coach Chris Foster is in his first season as the program's leader, having shifted over one seat after serving as the team's associate head coach last year under then-head coach Matt Woodley. This is Foster's first season as a collegiate head coach, and he is the 13^th head coach in program history.

Bulldog Tweetables (140 characters or less):

Saturday will be the 2,183^rd game in program history, with the team holding a 1,115-1,067 all-time record in now 95 seasons of basketball.
Already 2-0 this year, Truman looks to build on last year's 12-2 home mark. The Bulldogs won by an average of 9.1 ppg in GLVC games (7-2).
The Bulldogs are shooting 50.1% from the floor, inc. 37.2% from 3-point distance this year. Opponents are at 42.8%/36.0% respectively.
Truman is connecting at 74.3% (127-of-171) from the foul line, while opponents are shooting 70.7% (94-of-113) at the stripe.
The Bulldogs have been out-rebounded in six of seven games so far, with the team holding a -5.0 margin on the glass.
On the flip side, the Bulldogs have been careful with the ball this year, posting equal/fewer turnovers than their opponents in each game.
Truman has a turnover margin of +6.7 on the season, while forcing 47 more turnovers than they've committed in 2014-15.
Seven different Bulldogs have hit multiple three-pointers this season, led by 12 from senior guard Isaac Gardner.
Nine regulars in the rotation are averaging at least 11 minutes per game, with Mells' 28.1 serving as the team-high.

Scouting the Opponents:
On Saturday, the Bulldogs will host a Central Christian team that will be playing its fourth GLVC opponent in eight days, as CCCB has gone 3-8 through its first 11 games this year. The Saints lost by six (65-59) at Lincoln Christian in its second game of the year and recently put up losses by 60 (UMSL), 52 (McKendree) and 40 (William Jewell) through the first three legs of its GLVC run.

Only seven players have seen action for CCCB this year, with forward Victor Dean (#25) putting up video-game numbers at 20.6 points and 17.0 rebounds per contest. Adam Rabke (#24) is the team's other double-figure point scorer at 13.0 ppg. CCCB has struggled to take care of the basketball this season, as the team has as many turnovers (229) as it does made baskets. Jack Defreitas is in his second season of his second stint as the team's head coach. He also led the team from 2007-09.

On Monday night, the Bulldogs welcome Faith Baptist to Pershing Arena, with the Eagles carrying a 5-2 overall record into a pair of road games this weekend. Faith defeated Lincoln Christian by 16 but lost to Truman's next Friday opponent – Iowa Wesleyan – by 12 in back-to-back games before Thanksgiving.

Faith Baptist has put up points this season, averaging 85 points per game, as five players are averaging double-figures on the offensive end. Aaron Leistikow (#33) is the team leader in both points (16.6) and rebounds (8.7), while Josh Bray (16.0 ppg), Cody Chaffin (15.0 ppg), and Ryan Kupferschmid (14.4 ppg) also have paced the Eagle attack. The team has connected on 26 of 57 three-pointers (45.6%) in two conference games (both wins). Brian Fincham is the program's head coach and has been in that role since the start of the 2007 season.

Jackson Named GLVC Athlete of the Week:
Senior guard Seth Jackson was named the Great Lakes Valley Conference Athlete of the Week on Monday after averaging 28.0 points per game and shooting 61.3% (19-for-31) from the field during two Truman wins last week. He went 2-for-5 from three-point range and hit 16-of-20 (80%) free throws while averaging 24.0 minutes per game.

This is the first time he has earned the conference's weekly award, with his honor marking the third time a Bulldog has picked up the accolade after Mike Carlson (twice) and current senior guard Reed Mells did so in 2013-14.

The full release can be found here.

Fireworks on the Offensive End:
The current four-game winning streak for the Bulldogs has seen the team put up strong numbers on both ends of the court, as Truman has topped the 85-point mark in three of the games, while holding two of the opponents below 65 points on the defensive end. The Bulldogs have shot the ball at a 53% clip and have dropped 37 three-pointers at a 42% rate.

The Bulldogs' 65-point win against Lincoln Christian is the largest margin of victory by any GLVC program this season, with Truman topping Missouri S&T's 106-46 win against Ozark (Mo.) Christian on Dec. 1 with its Dec. 4 victory.

#UniWatch:
The Bulldogs added a third jersey to their uniform arsenal this season, picking up an anthracite-gray to go along with the team's traditional purple and white choices. The full game notes will be tracking the team's record in each color this year, with the gray being the jersey of choice so far in four contests to a tune of 2-2. The Bulldogs are 3-0 in their white jerseys this season.

Jackson Pacing the GLVC:
Thanks to five 20+ point performances through the team's first seven games of the season – six coming against NCAA Div. II opposition – senior guard Seth Jackson is leading the Great Lakes Valley Conference at 23.7 points per game. He is one of five players currently averaging at least 20 points per game, with the St. Louis-native currently edging out Cameron Vines from Saint Joseph's College (21.3 ppg).

Jackson also ranks 15^th in the league in field goal percentage.

A Whole New Venue:
The Great Lakes Valley Conference's 20 league championships sites have been determined for the 2014-15 season, with the most notable change to the GLVC Championship schedule coming in basketball.

The 2015 GLVC Men's and Women's Basketball Championship Tournament will enter into its first of a two-year agreement with the Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., just minutes outside St. Louis. The league's premiere event had been held the past two years at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana, but a two-year schedule conflict with the venue required the GLVC to relocate. The 2015 event will begin with first-round competition on campus sites on March 1, with eight quarterfinalists on both the men's and women's side advancing to Family Arena for tournament action, March 5-8. Tickets for the 2015 GLVC Men's and Women's Basketball Championship Tournament are expected to go on sale in late November.

Found: 20 Wins!:
Last year's Bulldog team became the first to win 20 games since the 2005-06 team capped its season with a 20-9 record. Only five previous Bulldog teams – 1946-47 (30-2), 1947-48 (29-2), 1978-79 (20-9), 1998-99 (26-7), 2005-06 (20-9) – reached the 20-win mark in a season.

In addition, the Bulldogs' 13 conference wins last season set a new program record, as only two other Bulldog teams reached the dozen win mark during their respective conference slates.

Letting It Fly:
Last year's Bulldog team made 233 three-pointers through 27 games, marking the second-most all-time on the single season chart. That number has topped 200 each of the last three seasons, beginning with 205 in 2011-12 and 201 in 2012-13.

The Bulldogs have also made at least one three-pointer in every game since Feb. 12, 2003, a stretch of 313 consecutive games.

Up Next:
Following this stretch of home games, the Bulldogs will take to the road on Tuesday (Dec. 16) night to battle Div. I Indiana State in an exhibition contest in Terre Haute, Ind. Truman has played the Sycamores in each of the past three seasons, with the Bulldogs falling by 11 (80-69) last year and by 13 (70-57) in 2012-13.

The next countable game for the Bulldogs is slated for next Friday (Dec. 19) night against Iowa Wesleyan at 5:30 p.m. in Pershing Arena. That contest will be the last home game before the Christmas holiday.

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Players Mentioned

#05 Mike Carlson: F; 6' 9"; Senior

#35 Patrick Burmester: C; 6' 9"; Senior

#40 Billy Daniel: F; 6' 6"; Sophomore

#32 Connor Erickson: F; 6' 8"; Sophomore

#03 Isaac Gardner: G; 6' 4"; Redshirt Senior

#02 Seth Jackson: G; 6' 4"; Senior

#22 Kyle Kanaskie: G; 5' 11"; Sophomore

#25 Connor Lusso: F; 6' 6"; Redshirt Freshman

#10 Hank Mathews: G; 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman

#04 Reed Mells: G; 5' 11"; Senior

Players Mentioned

#05 Mike Carlson
: 6' 9"; Senior
: F

#35 Patrick Burmester
: 6' 9"; Senior
: C

#40 Billy Daniel
: 6' 6"; Sophomore
: F

#32 Connor Erickson
: 6' 8"; Sophomore
: F

#03 Isaac Gardner
: 6' 4"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#02 Seth Jackson
: 6' 4"; Senior
: G

#22 Kyle Kanaskie
: 5' 11"; Sophomore
: G

#25 Connor Lusso
: 6' 6"; Redshirt Freshman
: F

#10 Hank Mathews
: 6' 2"; Redshirt Freshman
: G

#04 Reed Mells
: 5' 11"; Senior
: G