Truman Game Notes (.PDF)
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - The winning streak for Truman men's basketball was snapped at six games on Saturday, Dec. 10 when the Bulldogs dropped a heartbreaker at rival Quincy, 91-90. In that game, sophomore
Jake Velky dropped a career high 35 points on 10-of-14 shooting, a perfect 13-for-13 at the free throw line, to go with eight rebounds, three steals and two assists. Prior to that contest, on Tuesday, Truman rolled past in-state foe, Central Methodist, 98-67. Those 35 points for Velky are the most by a Bulldog since Seth Jackson racked up 42 at Drury on Jan. 29, 2015.
Against the Eagles, Truman was led by four scorers in double-figures including
Cory Myers (22),
Nathan Messer (21),
Connor Erickson (13), and
Zach Fischer off the bench with 10. The Bulldogs have reached the 90-point plateau five times so far this season including the last three in a row. The Bulldogs now travel to The Bluegrass State for two games in as many days against the likes of Benedict College on Friday (5:00 p.m.) and either Kentucky Wesleyan or Southern Wesleyan on Saturday (TBA). After those two showdowns, Truman won't play another game for 13 days until a New Year's Eve affair with Central Christian inside Pershing Arena (3 p.m.).
Scouting the Tigers
This will be the first ever meeting between the Bulldogs and Tigers, who are in year No. 15 under the leadership of head coach, Fred Watson. During Watson's tenure, Benedict has won five Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) titles and has advanced to the NCAA Tournament eight times. He has been named the SIAC Coach of the Year five times and been named the SIAC Tournament Most Outstanding Coach five times. This season, Benedict has only played five games with a record of 2-3 including wins against Central State and Kentucky State as well as losses vs. Johnson C. Smith, Augusta and Central State. The Tigers are led by a lone scorer averaging double-figures, and his name is Brandon Morris. Morris is putting up 16 points per game, but that is somewhat of an inconsistent average as he has been held below 10 points two times, but has also scored 25 or more twice.
Scouting the Panthers
Kentucky Wesleyan enters its tournament on quite the roll as it has won five games in a row to put its overall record at 7-2, which includes an unblemished 6-0 at home inside the Owensboro Sportscenter. Because of their effort so far this year, the Panthers received three votes (33rd) in the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC) poll. Kentucky Wesleyan is outscoring its opponents by nearly 14 points per game (+13.8/87-73.2) this season and has reached the century mark twice against Kentucky State on Nov. 22 (120-81) and Salem International on Dec. 4 (114-89). Individually, the Panthers boast a pair of scorers putting up at least 10 points per contest in Ken-Jah Bosley (18.8) and Jordan Jacks (17.9). Bosley is a 40 percent three-point shooter while Jacks is making over 59 percent of his attempts from the field.
Scouting the Warriors
Southern Wesleyan has won just two of its nine games this season and enters The Wesleyan Way Invitational on a three-game skid. The Warriors two wins came against Brevard on Nov. 12, 75-61, and Erskine on Dec. 3, 71-69. Unquestionably, Darius Sharpe is the ringleader for this Southern Wesleyan squad as he is the only Warrior putting up at least 10 points per game with 21.6 per contest. This season, the senior has been held to 15 points or below just once and has poured in at least 20 of them six times including a 33-point performance at Newberry on Nov. 19. With that being said, Sharpe is making just 38.7 percent (60-of-155) of his attempts from the floor this year and has missed at least 10 shots in a game five times this year.
Happy Holidays
The most wins Truman men's basketball has ever had prior to Christmas break is 10 when the Bulldogs were 10-2 in 2005-06 under head coach, Jack Schrader, heading into the holiday season. If the Purple and White can come home with a weekend sweep in Kentucky, they will have tied that mark with 10 wins in the season's first 12 games. In fact, with Christmas just around the corner (including this year's mark of 8-2), Truman has had a combined record of 32-8 (.800 winning percentage) since the start of the 2013-14 campaign. All time, the Bulldogs are a combined 25-15 (.625) on Dec. 16 and Dec. 17 including a 12-8 (.600) record on the first day and a mark of 13-7 (.650) on the second day.
Make the Freebies Count
Against Quincy this past Saturday, Truman was a perfect 22-of-22 from the free throw line, which are the most free throws made by a Bulldog team without a miss in program history. That mark crushed the old record of 14-for-14 that was set on Feb. 14, 1996 when the Purple and White won at Northwest Missouri, 66-58. This season, Truman is shooting 76.6 percent (147-of-192) at the charity stripe, which is good for fourth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC). The Bulldogs have made 147 freebies, which are tied for seventh in the league, and attempted 192 of them, which is ranked ninth among the conference's 16 representatives. This season, Truman has made at least 20 of its attempts in four games including two of the last three. Individually,
Jake Velky is the GLVC's best free throw shooter according to percentage with a clip of 94.7 percent (36-for-38) while
Cory Myers (76.5) and
Connor Erickson (75.6) are also among the top 20 at 16th and 18th, respectively.
Jake the Snake
It's turning into somewhat of a broken record, but every week, we have to take a step back and appreciate the things that
Jake Velky is doing this year. The sophomore guard is now averaging 19.4 points per game, which is good for a tie for second in the league with William Jewell's Patrick Whelan and behind only Southern Indiana's Alex Stein. That average is over 12 points higher than Velky's average entering this season (7.3), is good for eighth in the Midwest Region and 71st among all that Division II has to offer. Not only is the Waverly, Iowa native scoring at a very high rate, but he's doing so with great efficiency as well. If the season ended today, the 6-1 shooter would have the program's best-ever marks in field goal percentage (62.2), three-point field goal percentage (58.7) and free throw percentage (94.7). Yes it's very early, but right now, the phrase "sophomore slump" is nothing but a myth for Mr. Velky.
Uncharted Territory
Truman men's basketball has only played in the state of Kentucky once in its history and that was the Nov. 29, 2014 showdown at Kentucky Wesleyan that the Bulldogs came out on top in, 70-65. The Purple and White have only played the Panthers twice all time with the other one being a rather important one on March 12, 1971 that Truman came up short in, 48-60. That season was one in which the Bulldogs won the MIAA Championship and hosted the Midwest Regional of the NCAA Tournament before falling to Kentucky Wesleyan in round two by 12. When it comes to Benedict and Southern Wesleyan, Truman has never faced either of those teams in its history.
