Men's Basketball 1/8/2016 10:35:00 AM Tyler Madsen, Athletics Communications

Men's Basketball Notes: Truman vs. Illinois Springfield (Jan. 9; 3 p.m.)

Truman Men's Basketball Notes (January 9, 2016)
Twitter: @TrumanAthletics || @TSUBulldogHoops || #BewareofDog

Printable Game Notes (PDF)

Game #15: Truman (11-3, 3-1 GLVC) vs. Illinois Springfield (6-7, 0-3 GLVC)

When: Saturday, January 9, 2016 || 3 p.m. (CST)
Where: Kirksville, Mo. || Pershing Arena
Audio: 104.7 FM KRES (Brad Boyer, Play-by- Play; Hank Janssen, Analyst) || Online Feed
Live Stats || Live Stats (Media) || Live Video

Series Record: Truman leads, 2-1
Series Record Since Truman Joined GLVC: Truman leads, 2-1
Series Record in Kirksville: Series tied, 1-1

Last Meeting: January 10, 2015 – Truman won, 59-58 (Springfield, Ill.)
Last UIS Win vs. TSU: March 2, 2014 – UIS won, 78-72 (Kirksville, Mo.)
Series Streak: Truman- W1

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - Winners of seven straight contests, the Truman men's basketball team looks to end a three-game homestand on a positive note this Saturday afternoon when the Bulldogs welcome the Prairie Stars of the University of Illinois Springfield at 3 p.m. in General John J. Pershing Arena.

The Bulldogs (11-3, 3-1 GLVC West) are coming off a wire-to-wire victory on Thursday night, having jumped all over visiting McKendree right out of the gate en route to an 84-62 win in Kirksville. Junior forward Connor Erickson scored a team-high 15 points and grabbed seven rebounds, while three others joined him in double-figures – including a well-balanced 10 point, eight assist, six rebound, two steal performance by junior guard Dwight Sistrunk, Jr.

Meanwhile, the Prairie Stars played side-by-side on the road at Quincy on Thursday night but came up short in a 93-82 decision in QU's Pepsi Arena. UIS trailed by six at the half but was tied with the Hawks at 63-all with 7:21 to play. However, Quincy pulled away with a 12-1 run during the next two minutes and made all 10 free throws in the final 80 seconds to hold on for the win. Senior guard Davi Austin scored a career-high 25 points and added six assists to lead UIS.

Saturday afternoon's cross-divisional matchup will be just the fourth all-time meeting between the schools – all coming since Truman joined the GLVC in the 2013-14 season. The Bulldogs are 2-1 all-time against the Prairie Stars, which includes a 59-58 thrilling victory in Springfield last January. Seth Jackson scored a game-high 20 points, and Cory Myers added 12 points of his own, as the Bulldogs had to withstand a buzzer-beating three-point try that glanced off the side of the rim and backboard. The teams split decisions in the 2013-14 season, with Truman winning the regular season matchup 76-70 at home before falling by a 78-72 score in the opening round of the GLVC tournament – also in Kirksville.

Chris Foster is in his second season as the head coach of the Bulldogs and is in his third season with the program overall. He has a career record of 31-13 (.705) and was a former standout guard at the University of Northern Iowa, where he ranks among the program's top-10 in games played, assists, and three-pointers. Foster was a member of UNI's 2003 and 2004 NCAA Div. I tournament squads. He is assisted by Mike Annese, who returned to the program this season after a one-year stint at Minnesota-Crookston, and graduate assistant Nik Koprivica.

About the Bulldogs:
Truman continues to play its best ball of the season to-date, winning seven straight and remaining the only GLVC West division team to reach or surpass the 10-win mark. During the recent streak, the Bulldogs have scored more than 88 points per game and shot better than 50% from the field overall.

Overall this season, the Bulldogs are shooting 48.2% from the floor overall, which includes a 35.2% mark from three-point range – a number that continues to rise after a slow start. Truman is shooting 69.5% from the foul line and has forced 234 turnovers while committing just 148 of its own.

Junior forward Connor Erickson leads an incredibly-balanced Bulldog lineup in scoring at 12.8 ppg, as six different Bulldogs range between 9.1 and 12.8 points per game. Redshirt junior guard Cory Myers is right on his tail at 12.4 ppg while also leading the Bulldogs in rebounding (4.8 per game), assists (3.6 per game), and steals (29). Junior guard Kyle Kanaskie (11.7 ppg), senior guard Cole Myers (10.8), and freshman guard Jake Velky (10.1) also are atop the 10-point plateau.

The Bulldogs sit in the GLVC's top-25% as a team in six categories, most notably as leaders in both turnover margin (+6.1 per game) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.46). Truman is second in three-pointers made per game (9.5), third in both scoring offense (84.1) and steals per game (9.4), and fourth in scoring margin (+12.6).

Among top-10 leaders in the GLVC, both Cory (4^th; 2.1) and Cole (6^th; 1.8) Myers are ranked in steals, while Kanaskie is seventh in free throw percentage (88.6%) and eighth in three-pointers (2.2/game). Velky ranks sixth in the league in three-point percentage (50.8%) and 11^th in three-pointers (2.1/game).

Saturday's Three Keys:

Battling the Boards: Neither team (Truman, 15^th in GLVC; UIS, 16^th in GLVC) ranks well in rebounding margin, so seeing the final rebounding numbers could lead to a similar difference in final score.
'Dogs Gotta Shoot: Truman has been red-hot from three-point land as of late, ranking second in three-pointers made in the GLVC. UIS defends the three near the middle of the pack, ranking 12^th in the GLVC at 35.2%.
Possess the Rock: The Bulldogs now rank 1^st in both TO margin and AST-TO ratio; however, UIS is 4^th in TO margin and fifth in steals per game.

Scouting the Prairie Stars:

The Prairie Stars check into Saturday afternoon at 6-7 overall and 0-3 in the GLVC, having lost at Bellarmine and Southern Indiana prior to Christmas before Thursday night's defeat at Quincy. The Prairie Stars are 0-4 in true road games this year.
UIS is shooting 46.6% on the year, including 35.2% from three-point range and 73.6% from the foul line.
Jamall Millison (#24; 6-foot-2 SR guard) leads the team in scoring at 13.1 ppg. He has made a team-best 22 three-pointers and is an 81% foul shooter. Davi Austin (#2; 6-foot-1 SR guard) is averaging 10.6 points and 4.0 assists per game. He is shooting 57% from the field and is a 79% foul shooter.
Bill Walker is in his second season at the helm of the UIS program and has a 16-23 overall record at UIS. He has a similar career record.

Bulldog Tweet-ables (140 characters or less):

#MBBHistory: Saturday's game will mark the 2,220^th in program history. TSU has 1,141-1,078 overall record (.514) in 96^th season.
#80IsGravy: 'Dogs have won all 25 games under HC Foster when scoring at least 80 points (10-0 in 2015-16).
#UniWatch: Say hello to new purple uni's this year; 'Dogs are 9-2 in white's and 2-1 in purple's this yr. No gray sighting yet.
#GottaGetUp: Under HC Foster, Truman is 29-2 when leading at the half. Team just 2-11 when tied/trailing at break.
#WinTheGlass: The Bulldogs are 4-0 this year (15-0 in last two seasons combined) when they out-rebound opponents.

Hank's History Book – January 9:

Truman is 20-12 all-time in games played on January 9. The Bulldogs' last win on Jan. 9 came in its last game on the date – just two years ago on Jan. 9, 2014, against Illinois Springfield (W 76-70).
January 9, 1999 – Perhaps the most notable game on this date in program history, the 1998-99 team snapped a four-game losing streak that spanned the holidays with a 67-65 home win against Washburn. That victory was the first of two big wins against WU that season (the second starting a 15-game winning streak on Feb. 1 in Topeka), leading to an appearance in the NCAA Div. II national semifinals.

I Get By with a Little Help from My Friends:
Truman has been incredibly generous with the rock this season, averaging more than 15 assists per game overall. The Bulldogs, who have topped the 20-assist mark in a game three times this season, are 7-0 this year and 20-3 during the past two seasons when they dish out at least 15 assists in a game.

Numbers on the Rise:
During the first nine games this season, the Bulldogs were 6-3 and were shooting just 31.3% from the three-point line. In the past five games, the Bulldogs have gone 5-0 and are shooting 42.6% (55-for-129) from beyond the arc. The team's assist-to-turnover ratio has also risen to 1.61 (from its GLVC-league best 1.46 current overall).

Among the Career Charts:
Senior guards Andrew Vander Zwaag and Cole Myers, along with redshirt junior guard Cory Myers have made their ways onto a pair of Truman's career individual charts.

Vander Zwaag ranks 9^th in three-pointers attempted (425) and trails Boyd Printy's eighth-most total of 447 (1989-92) as the next-in-line. He recently passed Mike Peterson's 10^th-most total of 385, set from 1997-2001.

Vander Zwaag also just passed Mike Peterson (1997-2001) to move into 10^th all-time on the all-time triples chart (currently: 162). He needs just two more to tie Jason Ramthun's total of 164 (1996-2000) for ninth-place.

The Myers' twins, meanwhile, also each have passed recent team-member Reed Mells for 9^th (Cole: 118) and 10^th (Cory: 112) on the all-time steals chart. Next up for each is Gary Bussard's 1980-83 total of 126 in eighth place.

"Three"sy-Peesy:
Truman has seen sustained success from distance throughout program history, with the Bulldogs having made at least one three-pointer in every game since Feb. 12, 2003 – a stretch of 349 consecutive games.

Four Peas in a GLVC Pod:
For the 2015-16 season, the GLVC will again be invoking a "pod" system for basketball scheduling, resulting in 18 league matches for all 16 of the conference's schools. While all 16 teams will fall under the East and West divisional standings with no delineation between pods, Truman will play Quincy, Rockhurst, and William Jewell twice each as part of one four-team grouping.

Drury, Missouri S&T, Maryville, and Missouri-St. Louis will link together as the second West division pod, while the quartets of Bellarmine—Illinois Springfield—McKendree—Southern Indiana and Indianapolis—Lewis—Saint Joseph's—Wisconsin-Parkside will comprise the two East division groupings.

At the end of the season, the top 12 teams will compete for the GLVC men's basketball championship. First-round games between seeds 5-12 will be played on Sunday, February 28, with the top-4 seed and first-round winners advancing once again to Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo., for the remainder of the tournament the next weekend.

Up Next:
The Bulldogs embark on their toughest road trip of the season to date when they head to East division foes Bellarmine and Southern Indiana next Thursday and Saturday. Truman faces No. 11 Bellarmine at 7 p.m. (CST) on Jan. 14 in Louisville, Ky., to open the trip.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#32 Connor Erickson: F; 6' 8"; Redshirt Junior

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

#11 Cole Myers: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#12 Cory Myers: G; 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior

#45 Dwight Sistrunk, Jr.: G; 5' 11"; Redshirt Junior

#30 Andrew Vander Zwaag: G; 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior

#24 Jake Velky: G; 6' 1"; Freshman

Players Mentioned

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

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

#32 Connor Erickson
: 6' 8"; Redshirt Junior
: F

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

#11 Cole Myers
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#12 Cory Myers
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Junior
: G

#45 Dwight Sistrunk, Jr.
: 5' 11"; Redshirt Junior
: G

#30 Andrew Vander Zwaag
: 6' 3"; Redshirt Senior
: G

#24 Jake Velky
: 6' 1"; Freshman
: G