Men's Basketball | 2/19/2016 9:15:00 AM
Game #27: Truman (18-8, 10-6 GLVC) at Rockhurst (12-12, 7-9 GLVC)
When: Saturday, February 20, 2016 || 3 p.m.
Where: Kansas City, Mo. || Mason-Halpin Field House
Audio: 104.7 FM KRES (Kevin White, Play-by- Play; Hank Janssen, Analyst) || Online Feed
Live Stats || Live Stats (Mobile) || Live Video
Series Record: Truman leads, 21-14
Series Record in Kansas City: Rockhurst leads, 8-6
Series Record Since Truman Joined GLVC: Truman leads, 2-1
Last Meeting: December 3, 2015 || Rockhurst won, 78-72 (Kirksville, Mo.)
Last TSU Win vs. Rockhurst: January 24, 2015 || Truman won, 89-65 (Kirksville, Mo.)
Series Streak: Rockhurst – W1
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - The Truman State University men's basketball team hits the road for an intra-division test this Saturday afternoon, as the Bulldogs look for retribution against Rockhurst University at 3 p.m. from RU's Mason-Halpin Field House in Kansas City.
The Bulldogs, who are coming off a 98-83 home victory against William Jewell on Thursday night, will visit Rockhurst (12-12, 7-9 GLVC) for an afternoon matinee on Saturday afternoon, looking to avenge a 78-72 loss to the Hawks in Pershing Arena on December 3, 2015, in the GLVC opener. Truman has clinched, at minimum, a first-round home game in the upcoming Great Lakes Valley Conference tournament and remains in contention for not only a first-round bye, but also a West division title with two games left to play in the regular season.
The task at hand will be challenging for Truman, however, as the Bulldogs will look to deal the Hawks a home court loss and salvage a regular season split with Rockhurst. While Truman was busy defeating William Jewell for the second time this season on Thursday night, Rockhurst couldn't hold on to a late home lead against Quincy before falling by a 79-74 score. Freshman Austin LeVan scored a team-high 19 points off the bench, while junior Adam Fatkin logged a 12-point, 11-rebound double-double.
In Pershing Arena on Thursday night, it was the Billy Daniel show, as the junior poured in a career-high 27 points on 8-of-12 shooting, while also connecting on 11-of-13 free throws to help Truman snap a three-game losing streak. The Bulldogs shot 58% from the field and connected on 12-of-22 three-point tries, while also hitting a blazing 20-of-23 (87%) from the foul line to keep the Cardinals at bay. Redshirt senior Andrew Vander Zwaag hit four three-pointers and scored 17 points off the bench, while redshirt junior Cory Myers finished with nine points, six assists, and four steals.
Earlier this season, Truman never led in a 78-72 home defeat at the hands of the Hawks, despite trailing by just six at the break. Redshirt junior Connor Erickson led the Bulldogs with 18 points, but Truman connected on just 5-of-27 of its three-point chances, allowing the Hawks to dominate the glass by a +13 margin. LeVan scored 18 for Rockhurst, with Fatkin posting a 16-point, 12-rebound double-double.
Saturday afternoon will mark the 36th all-time meeting between the two in-state rivals, with the Bulldogs' seven-game win streak snapped back in December. Rockhurst holds the all-time lead in Kansas City at 8-6, with the last matchup coming in January of 2014, when Truman downed the Hawks 88-71. Truman shot 69% in the second half in that game to built a three-point halftime lead into the 17-point final margin.
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 38-18 (.679) 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 State checks into Saturday afternoon looking to build upon its recent road success, having gone 3-1 during a four-game trip through southern Missouri and Indiana from January 28 through February 6.
The Bulldogs hold a +7.2 scoring margin on the season, averaging 82.8 points on the offensive end and allowing 75.7 points defensively. Truman is shooting 47.8% from the field, including an ever-increasing 37.7% mark from three-point range. The Bulldogs are hitting 72.0% of their free throws but continued to get handled on the glass, as the guard-heavy Truman lineup has a -5.0 rebounding margin for the year.
Individually, the Bulldogs have five players averaging double-figures offensively, led by senior guard Cole Myers' 12.5 ppg. He also tops the squad at 4.7 rebounds per game while having active hands with 36 steals.
Checking in right behind him is junior guard Kyle Kanaskie, who is shooting better than 42% from three-point range en route to a 12.3 ppg average. Redshirt junior Connor Erickson (11.8 ppg), Cory Myers (11.5 ppg), and Vander Zwaag (10.6 ppg) also check in with double-figures.
Truman continues to lead the GLVC in turnover margin (+5.3) and moved back into the top spot past Quincy in both three-point field goals (9.7/game) and steals (9.2/game) after Thursday night. The Bulldogs are fourth in the nation in turnover margin.
Opponent Breakdown- Rockhurst:- Rockhurst enters Saturday with a 12-12 overall record, including a 6-5 mark in games played at home. The Hawks are just 2-5 in GLVC play on their home court.
- The Hawks boast the GLVC's No. 3 scoring defense (72.5 ppg) but have struggled offensively, ranking last in the league at 74.5 ppg. The team is holding opposing three-point shooters to just 32.4% (3rd in GLVC), but the squad is last in the league itself from beyond the arc at 32.4% also.
- The Bulldogs will have to make two big adjustments from the first meeting between the squads, as neither Dominique Washington (18.5 ppg/5.8 rpg) nor Alex Hagan (7.5 ppg/6.9 rpg) played in the early-December matchup. Washington leads the team in scoring, followed by LeVan (11.7 ppg) and Malachi Nix (11.3 ppg/5.6 apg).
- Drew Diener is in his first season at Rockhurst and his seventh overall as a collegiate head coach. His career record is 180-55 in now seven seasons of coaching at the college level.
Tourney Time:
Two games remain in the 2015-16 season, and the GLVC postseason tournament outlook remains fuzzy for most of the league's 16 teams. What Truman knows is that it is not only in the tournament for the third time in as many possible seasons since joining the league in 2013-14, but that it will also, at minimum, host a first-round home game on Sunday, Feb. 28, in Pershing Arena.
Still to be determined through is the team's seeding, which currently sits seventh, one game back of both Lewis and Quincy who are tied for fifth at 11-5 in league play. Truman's two-game lead and road win at Drury guarantees that the Bulldogs can finish no worse than the No. 7 seed, while the No. 2 seed – currently held by 12-4 Drury – remains in play for at least one more day. Any win by DU or loss by TSU the rest of the way keeps the 'Dogs out of winning the West division.
The tournament begins with four "play-in" games on Feb. 28, with seeds 5-8 hosting seeds 9-12 on campus sites in opening round action. The top-four seeds – likely to be three from the East and the West champion – will get a first-round bye straight into the quarterfinals, which begin on Friday, March 4, in St. Charles, Mo., at Family Arena.
If the tournament started before Saturday afternoon's action, Truman would be the No. 7 seed, hosting No. 10 seed McKendree in the opening round on Feb. 28.
February Blues:
The Bulldogs will look to turn around their recent slumps in the month of February on Thursday night, as Truman is just 2-3 this year in the second month and 5-7 during the last two years in the regular season's final month. Truman went 4-2 in November, 5-1 in December, and 7-2 in January this season.
Foster Equals His Predecessor:
With his 38th victory as the Bulldogs' head coach on Thursday night, Chris Foster tied the program's last coach, Matt Woodley, despite coaching 26 fewer games. Foster, now 38-18 along the Truman sidelines, will pass Woodley and become the seventh-winningest coach in program history with the team's next victory. His .679 winning percentage also gives him the current top line amongst all previous Truman coaches.
Pick Your Poison:
As balanced as the Bulldogs have been all season long in scoring with five players in double-figures, a second glance is typically needed when looking at the Truman scoring lineup in conference-only games. Truman has six players in double-figures through 15 league games, but it's how tight the numbers are that show the balance of the Bulldog offense.
14.2 / 12.3 / 11.6 / 11.3 / 10.9 / 10.1
That sextet consists of – in scoring order – Cole Myers, Kyle Kanaskie, Andrew Vander Zwaag, Connor Erickson, Cory Myers, and Dwight Sistrunk Jr.
Bulldog Tweet-ables (140 characters or less):- #MBBHistory: Saturday's game will mark the 2,232nd in program history. TSU has a 1,148-1,083 overall record (.515) in 96th season.
- #NoLeadTooBig: The Bulldogs have come from 10 points down to win twice this season (CU, 11/28; UMSL, 1/21).
- #UniWatch: 'Dogs have three uni combos this season – 13-4 in whites, 3-3 in purples, and 2-1 in anthracite greys.
- #ForceTheMistakes: In 25 games this season, Truman has had equal/fewer turnovers than opponents 23 times (18-5 in those games).
Mr. 300, and Mr. 300:
With redshirt junior guard Cory Myers topping the 300-career assist mark last week, becoming just the eighth Bulldog to do so all-time, he joined new teammate Dwight Sistrunk, Jr., above the milestone plateau. Sistrunk, who recorded 278 assists during his first two collegiate seasons at William Jewell, has handed out 68 in 17 games this season at Truman for a career total of 346. Myers, meanwhile, is up to 317 all-time.
Truman is one of just three NCAA Div. II programs to feature two active players with more than 300 career assists, joining Merrimack and Wheeling Jesuit in that club. There are only 37 active players in NCAA Div. II that have surpassed the 300-assist mark.
"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 361 consecutive games.
Checking the Career Charts:
Four Bulldog regulars are creeping up on a handful of career individual charts, as senior Andrew Vander Zwaag, senior Cole Myers, junior Cory Myers, and junior Kyle Kanaskie have each seen their all-time numbers climb in recent outings.
Vander Zwaag, who sits seventh all-time with 196 three-balls, needs just three more to match Austin Kirby (2003-07) for sixth-place at 199. From there, Boyd Printy's fifth-place total of 201 (1989-92) would be easily within reach, before a large gap to recent-graduate Isaac Gardner's fourth-place total of 237.
Meanwhile, the Myers twins continue to race each other up the career steals chart, as Cole holds a one-steal lead on Cory at 132-131. The elder (by athletic year) is now eighth all-time, with the younger (again, by athletic year) in ninth all-time. Jason Reinberg (1996-2000) is seventh on the all-time list with 136.
Cory (a redshirt junior) has also moved past Ethan Freeman into eighth all-time on the career assist chart with 317, leaving him next behind Banks Estridge's mark of 319 (2005-09) for 7th place. Two more places are right after Estridge, with Reinberg (320) and Chip Sodemann (322; 2002-06) currently holding down fifth and sixth, respectively.
Kanaskie, meanwhile, penciled his name onto the program's all-time free throw percentage list last Saturday, as he reached the 100-minimum makes requirement and is now 102-for-114 in his career at the stripe (89.5%). He is currently first overall, leading Tom Norton (2009-13) – the current leader – at 85.8% (211-for-246).
Up Next:
The 2015-16 regular season draws to a close next Thursday (Feb. 25) with a long-standing rivalry renewed across the Mississippi River against the Hawks of Quincy. Truman will look for a season sweep of QU, beginning with a 7:30 p.m. tip time from Pepsi Arena.
