Men's Basketball Notes: Truman vs. #14 UW-Parkside (March 4, 2016; 8:30 p.m.)

By: Tyler Madsen, Athletics Communications

Tim Barcus - University Photographer

Men's Basketball | 3/1/2016 2:40:00 PM

Truman Men's Basketball Notes (March 4, 2016)
Twitter: @TrumanAthletics || @TSUBulldogHoops || #BewareofDog
Printable/Media Game Notes (PDF)

Game #30: Truman (21-8, 12-6 GLVC) vs. #14 Wisconsin-Parkside (22-4, 15-3 GLVC)

When: Friday, March 4, 2016 || 8:30 p.m.
Where: St. Charles, Mo. || Family Arena
Audio: 104.7 FM KRES (Brad Boyer, Play-by- Play; Hank Janssen, Analyst) || Online Feed
Live Stats || Live Stats (Mobile) || Live Video

Series Record: Wisconsin-Parkside leads, 4-1.
Series Record at Neutral Site: Wisconsin-Parkside leads, 1-0.
Series Record Since Truman Joined GLVC: Wisconsin-Parkside leads, 4-0.

Last Meeting: February 11, 2016 || UW-Parkside won, 102-96 (ot) (Kirksville)
Last TSU Win vs. UW-Parkside: January 26, 1991 || Truman won, 83-58 (Kirksville)
Series Streak: Wisconsin-Parkside – W4

KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - - It's a case of déjà vu for the Truman State University men's basketball team for the 2016 Great Lakes Valley Conference quarterfinals, as the sixth-seeded Bulldogs face off against the No. 3 seeded Rangers of Wisconsin-Parkside for the second straight year with a semifinal berth on the line.

The Bulldogs (21-8) and nationally-ranked Rangers (22-4) will once again be the final game on the quarterfinal docket on Friday night, as the two teams will battle at 8:30 p.m. inside Family Arena in St. Charles, Mo. However, while the pre-game information is eerily similar, the purple and white will look to flip the script once the ball is in the air, as Truman will try and snap a four-game skid to Parkside and overcome a pair of close losses in the last two meetings.

Last season in the GLVC tournament, the Bulldogs rallied from a 13-point halftime deficit to have a look at a tie at the buzzer; however, the Rangers escaped with a 73-70 victory to advance to the GLVC semifinals. Then, just three weeks ago, the two teams battled in Pershing Arena, with the Rangers holding off the Bulldogs in overtime by a 102-96 score. The game featured 12 ties and 14 lead changes, along with Herculean efforts by both Truman's Cole Myers (34 points, nine rebounds) and Parkside's Andy Mazurczak (40 points, six rebounds, five assists).

Truman enters Friday night as winners of four straight, including a 90-84 GLVC tournament first-round home win against Missouri-St. Louis last Sunday in Pershing Arena. The Bulldogs shot 60 percent from the floor, getting a game-high 19 points from Cole Myers and a 14-point, eight-assist outing by redshirt junior guard Dwight Sistrunk, Jr., to move out of the first round for the second straight year. Truman trailed by one at the break, but a 9-0 run that spanned the intermission gave the 'Dogs an early second-half lead that would reach as many as 10 midway through the second half.

With Sunday's win, the Bulldogs are now 2-2 in GLVC postseason contests since the program joined the conference three years ago.

Friday will mark the sixth all-time meeting between the programs, with UW-Parkside holding a 4-1 lead in the series. The Rangers have won the last four games –all four matchups since Truman joined the GLVC – with Truman's last win coming in Kirksville on January 26, 1991, as an 83-58 Bulldog victory.

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 41-18 (.695) 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 checks into Friday night looking for win No. 22 on the season while also continuing a strong performance of road/neutral games down the stretch. The Bulldogs are 11-5 away from Kirksville this season but have won five of their last six games away from the friendly confines of Pershing Arena dating back to mid-January.

Overall, the Bulldogs are shooting 48.5% from the field and 38.3% from three-point range, with the league's No. 5 scoring offense (83.1 ppg) and No. 7 scoring defense (76.1 ppg). Truman leads the GLVC in two categories – three-pointers per game (9.7 made) and turnover margin (+5.0), with the Bulldogs also ranking the conference's top-2 in both steals per game (8.89/2^nd) and assist-to-turnover ratio (1.45/2^nd).

Individually, the Bulldogs have five players averaging double-figures offensively, led by senior guard Cole Myers' 12.9 ppg. He also tops the squad at 4.6 rebounds per game while having active hands with 39 steals.

Checking in right behind him is junior guard Kyle Kanaskie, who is shooting 41% from three-point range en route to a 12.3 ppg average. Connor Erickson (11.5 ppg), Cory Myers (11.5 ppg), and Andrew Vander Zwaag (11.3 ppg) also clock in with double-figures.

The Bulldogs have pitched a predominantly eight-man rotation as of recent, with redshirt junior Dwight Sistrunk, Jr., (9.1 ppg/4.3 apg), junior Billy Daniel (7.8 ppg/4.4 rpg), freshman Jake Velky (7.5 ppg/40% 3FG), and redshirt freshman Nikola Pesic (3.5 ppg/2.1 rpg) seeing extended minutes for the purple and white down the stretch.

Opponent Breakdown- UWP:

UW-Parkside enters Friday night as co-champions of the GLVC East division for the fourth straight year, having slipped into a tie with Bellarmine on the final night of the regular season at 15-3. The Rangers have the GLVC's No. 4 scoring offense (84.5 ppg) and No. 5 scoring defense (74.1 ppg), while ranking second in the conference in shooting at 50.1 percent.
The Rangers have one of the GLVC's most dynamic players in senior Andy Mazurczak, who ranks 6^th in the GLVC in scoring (18.2 ppg), 8^th in assist-to-turnover ratio, 8^th in minutes, and 14^th in assists (3.6/game). Sophomore Kendale McCullum is 15^th in the GLVC in scoring (14.7 ppg), 2^nd in assists (5.1/game), and is the league-leader in steals (2.0/game).
Luke Reigel is in his 13^th season at the helm of the UWP program and has posted a 193-172 record at the school.

The Last Time:
February 11, 2016 (Kirksville, Mo.)
For the second straight contest, the Truman men's basketball team battled one of the top Great Lakes Valley Conference East division foes to the wire, but Wisconsin-Parkside rode a game-ending 9-2 run in overtime to pick up a 102-96 win against the Bulldogs in Gen. John J. Pershing Arena on Thursday night.

The Bulldogs (17-7, 9-5 GLVC) were led by a career-high 34 points from senior guard Cole Myers – 22 of which came in the first half – while juniors Kyle Kanaskie and Billy Daniel (career-high) poured in 17 points apiece. Redshirt junior Dwight Sistrunk, Jr., added 14 points and seven assists.

Truman and No. 17 UW-Parkside (19-3, 12-2 GLVC) traded punches throughout the first half, with a frenetic pace leading to a combined 56% shooting between the teams in the opening 20 minutes. The Bulldogs carried a 46-42 lead into the break, behind 10-of-15 three-point shooting, of which Myers was responsible for 6-of-7 and Kanaskie 3-of-4.

UWP scored the first seven out of the break to take a 49-46 lead, but Truman would eventually re-gain the lead and build a nine-point cushion with as late as five minutes to play. However, the Rangers' Andy Mazurczak would score the team's final 18 points in regulation, including a lay-up with nine seconds to play to knot the score at 87-all. The Bulldogs hussled down court, but Kanaskie's game-winning three went off the back iron, and the teams went to overtime.

Mazurczak hit a three on the opening possession to run his scoring streak to 21, but Truman would take a 94-93 lead with just 2:09 to play after Myers converted on two free throws for his 33^rd and 34^th points. The teams would trade back-to-back empty possessions, before Kendale McCullum hit a three-pointer with 1:01 to play to put UWP back on top, 96-94. After a Truman turnover and a Mazurczak basket with 18 seconds left, the Bulldogs could only foul and trade lay-ups, as the Rangers escaped Pershing with the six-point win.

For the game, Myers went 11-of-17 from the floor, including 8-of-9 from three-point range, and 4-of-6 from the foul line for 34 points. He also grabbed nine rebounds, tying a career-high, and handed out four assists in 42 minutes of action. Truman shot 51.4% (37-of-72) from the floor for the game and hit 15-of-22 (68.2%) from the three-point line. After hitting 10-of-15 in the first 20 minutes, the Bulldogs went 5-of-7 in the final 25 minutes of play.

Parkside used a big advantage at the foul line (16-of-21 to 7-of-11) to out-score the 'Dogs by nine at the stripe, while the Rangers also connected at a high rate offensively at 55.7% (39-of-70). Mazurczak finished with a game-high 40 points and five assists, while McCullum added 24 points and six assists.

21's a Winner:
With Sunday's home win against UMSL in the books, the Truman men's basketball team reached the 21-win mark in a season for just the fourth time in school history. This year's squad had already completed the first three straight 20-win seasons stretch in program history, with the last Truman team to reach at least 21 wins coming in 1998-99 (26).

The 1946-47 (30) and 1947-48 (29) teams hold the most wins in a single-season. To tie the top mark, Truman would need to win nine more in a row, which, perfectly, would also give the program its first national title.

Lacing Them Up… Again and Again:
With one more appearance, redshirt senior Andrew Vander Zwaag will crack Truman's all-time top-10 for games played in a Bulldog uniform with 110. That total would tie him for the 10^th-most appearances as a Truman player, pulling himself even with five others – Austin Kirby, Chip Sodemann, Garret Grimm, Andy Calmes, and Mark Campbell.

Hand Outs:
A pair of Truman junior guards find themselves amongst the NCAA's elite, as Dwight Sistrunk, Jr. and Cory Myers are just two of 52 active Div. II players to have dished out more than 300 career assists. Of the 52, only 13 are sophomores or juniors.

Sistrunk Jr., who has handed out 86 helpers this season to go along with the 282 accumulated during his first two seasons of collegiate ball at William Jewell for a total of 364, and Myers, who has 326 overall during his 90 games as a Bulldog, rank 34^th and 37^th, respectively on the active assist chart.

Truman is one of just five NCAA Div. II programs to feature two active players with more than 300 career assists, joining Merrimack, Wheeling Jesuit, Delta State, and Western Oregon in that club.

Bulldog Tweet-ables (140 characters or less):

#MBBHistory: Friday's game will mark the 2,235^th in program history. TSU has a 1,151-1,083 overall record (.515) in 96^th season.
#NoLeadTooBig: The Bulldogs have come from 10 points down to win three times this season, including a season-high 12 on Thursday night against Quincy.
#UniWatch: 'Dogs have three uni combos this season – 14-4 in whites, 5-3 in purples, and 2-1 in anthracite greys.
#ForceTheMistakes: In 29 games this season, Truman has had equal/fewer turnovers than opponents 25 times (20-5 in those games).

"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 364 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's recent hot streak from beyond the three-point line has shot him up to 210 for his career, putting him fifth all-time on the career chart. In order to catch recent-graduate Isaac Gardner's fourth-place total of 237, the Bulldogs would need a sustained postseason run (which, would likely need to be fueled by a handful of AVZ 3's).

Meanwhile, the Myers twins continue to race each other up the career steals chart, as Cole holds a two-steal lead on Cory at 135-133. 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 Chip Sodemann's four-year total of 326 assists (2002-2006) into fifth-place all-time, with Jimmy Gooden's fourth-place mark of 356 (1984-86) next in line.

Kanaskie, meanwhile, has penciled his name onto the program's all-time free throw percentage list, as he is now 113-for-128 in his career at the stripe (88.3%). He is currently first overall, leading Tom Norton (2009-13) – the current leader – at 85.8% (211-for-246).

Up Next:
Should the Bulldogs advance out of the GLVC tournament's quarterfinal round on Friday night, the team would face the winner of Friday's 6 p.m. game between 2^nd-seeded Drury and 7^th-seeded Quincy. Truman is 3-0 against those teams this year, having defeated Drury in Springfield by an 82-72 score on Jan. 30, while also garnering a 91-76 home win against Quincy on Dec. 15, 2015, and an 83-82 road victory against the Hawks on Feb. 25.

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Players Mentioned

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

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

#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

#01 Nikola Pesic: G/F; 6' 5"; Redshirt Freshman

#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

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

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

#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

#01 Nikola Pesic
: 6' 5"; Redshirt Freshman
: G/F

#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