GAMES 7 & 8: TRUMAN AT ROCKHURST (GLVC OPENER) | TRUMAN AT WILLIAM JEWELL
	Truman Bulldogs 2016-17 Record: 5-1, 0-0 GLVC Coach: Chris Foster, Third season Roster | Schedule | Statistics
	Rockhurst Hawks 2016-17 Record: 3-2, 0-0 GLVC Coach: Drew Diener, Second season Roster | Schedule | Statistics
	William Jewell Cardinals 2016-17 Record: 3-2, 0-0 GLVC Coach: Larry Holley, 38th season Roster | Schedule | Statistics
	Game Information When? December 1, 2016 | 7:30 p.m. December 3, 2016 | 3:00 p.m. Where? Kansas City, Mo. | Mason Halpin Field House Liberty, Mo. | Mabee Center Follow Along Live Stats: Rockhurst | William Jewell Live Video: Rockhurst | William Jewell Radio: KRES 104.7 Twitter Truman Athletics | #BewareOfDog Truman Men's Basketball

Truman Game Notes (.PDF)

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - The Truman men's basketball team has run its record to 5-1 thanks to three-straight wins over the likes of Upper Iowa (87-76), Hannibal-LaGrange (99-68) and Lincoln (72-71). The Bulldogs' gift for that 5-1 start to the season is starting GLVC play on the road with showdowns against Rockhurst on Thursday and William Jewell on Saturday. Truman leads both the all-time series with the Hawks (22-14) and the Cardinals (10-3).

Sophomore, Jake Velky, continues to be the story of the season with a team high 17.5 points per game, which is good for 10th in the GLVC. Among those 10 players, Velky is first in total points (105), first in three-pointers made (22), second in minutes played (180), and fourth in field goals made (33). Nationally, the Waverly, Iowa native is third in three-point field goal percentage (62.9), 23rd in three-pointers made (22), 25th in three-point field goals made per game (3.7), and 34th in field goal percentage (63.5). The 6-1 guard hasn't been doing all the heavy lifting by himself, though. Two other scorers are averaging double-figures including newcomer, Nathan Messer, with 12.8 and fifth-year senior, Cory Myers, with 12.5.

Scouting the Hawks
2016-17 marks year No. two for the Rockhurst Hawks under the leadership of head coach, Drew Diener. Last season, Diener and the Hawks posted a 12-15 record and their first conference tournament appearance in six years. Fast forward to this year, and Rockhurst is off to a 3-2 start with GLVC play on the horizon. The scoring has been very balanced for the Hawks, to say the least. They boast five players putting up at least 10 points per game including Alex Hagan (16.7), Kaleb Warner (16), Malachi Nix (12.2), Mason Loewen (10.8), and Undra Wilson (10). Among those five, Nix might be the most dangerous as he has started all five of the team's games and is shooting 51.4 percent from the floor while dropping 2.6 assists per contest. Last year, the road team won both meetings with Truman falling by six at home (72-78) and winning by 10 in Kansas City (84-74). In the first game, a trio of returners had big games including Connor Erickson (18 points), Cory Myers (14 points) and Velky (11 points). In the 10-point win, five different Bulldogs were in double-figures.

Scouting the Cardinals
The head coach for the William Jewell Cardinals, Larry Holley, has been doing this thing for a long time. 2016-17 marks year No. 38 for Holley in Liberty, Mo. Over that time, Holley has accumulated an overall record of 793-416 (.656), a conference mark of 409-201 (.670) and a record of 447-109 (.804) inside William Jewell's Mabee Center. This season, Patrick Whelan is the one to watch for the Cardinals as he is averaging 20 points per game to go with four rebounds and 2.4 assists per contest. Joining him in the double-figure scoring department are Jorge Perez-Laham (14.6) and Larry Fitzgerald (12.2).  As a team, William Jewell is one of the best in the GLVC from behind the arc. The Cardinals are fifth in three-point field goals made with 45 and sixth in three-point field goal percentage at 42.1 percent (45-of-107). The leaders are Whelan (13 three-pointers made) and Perez-Laham (11 made).

Triple Threat
On the offensive end, Truman has been able to produce in all three facets including field goals, three-point field goals and free throws. Among the GLVC rankings, the Bulldogs are first in three-point field goal percentage (49.6), first in three-pointers made per game (11.3), second in three-pointers made (68), fourth in scoring offense (85.8 points per game), fourth in scoring margin (+13.5), fourth in total points (515), fourth in field goals made (182), fifth in field goal percentage (51.4), and fifth in free throw percentage (76.9). Nationally, Truman is among the top teams in multiple categories including three-point field goal percentage (second), three-pointers made per game (16th), three-pointers made (17th), field goal percentage (26th), free throw percentage (39th), scoring margin (39th), and scoring offense (49th).

Perfect Opportunity
The previous note proves that Truman has one of the most high-powered offenses in the league while Rockhurst has been shaky at best on the defensive end. The Hawks are last in the conference in scoring margin at -3.2, second-to-last in three-point field goal percentage defense (41.5 percent), third-to-last in scoring defense at 82.6 points per game, and 10th in field goal percentage defense (45.5 percent). In Rockhurst's two losses, it was outscored by 21 to Washburn (72-93) and 11 to Missouri Southern State (74-85). On the other side, in the Bulldogs' wins, they have outscored their opponents by a total of 92 points (432-340), or an average of 18.4 points per game (86.4-68).

Whelan and Dealin'
William Jewell's junior guard, Patrick Whelan, has been one of the best players in the GLVC this season. The shooter is third in the league in points per game (20), sixth in total points (100), tied for eighth in three-pointers made (13), tied for ninth in field goals made (34), and 11th in minutes played (182). In the team's five games for 2016-17, Whelan's scoring outputs have looked like this: 22, 17, 21, 19, and 21. The Manchester, England native is shooting 61.8 percent from the floor (34-of-55), 54.2 percent from deep (13-for-24) and 76 percent at the free throw line (19-of-25). Whelan has made at least three-pointers in all but one game and at least six field goals in all five contests.

Hit the Glass
William Jewell is one of the better rebounding teams in the GLVC. In the conference rankings, the Cardinals are first in rebounding defense (30.2), second in rebounding margin (+9.8), fourth in rebounds per game (40), fifth in rebounding offense (40), fifth in defensive rebounds per game (29.6), and eighth in offensive rebounds per game (10.4). Meanwhile, Truman will have to hit the glass harder than it has in order to keep up with the Cardinals. The Bulldogs are 10th in the GLVC in rebounding margin (+2.7) and third-to-last in rebounds per game (34.7).