Truman Game Notes (PDF)
KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - Eleven days ago, the Truman State University men's basketball team was looking at an 0-4 record with a two-game trip up to South Dakota on the horizon. Since that point, the Bulldogs have rattled off four wins in a row, all by four points or less, and have climbed all the way back to the .500 mark including a 2-0 start in GLVC play.
The Purple and White are now faced with a trip to an MIAA school for the third time in seven non-conference games. This time, it will be at Missouri Southern State, a program that Truman hasn't beaten since Jan. 27, 2007 in Pershing Arena (12-game skid). The Bulldogs haven't won on the Lions' floor since earlier that season on Dec. 9, 2006.
Looking back on the week that was, those two league victories for Truman were the first ever home wins for head coach,
Jeff Horner. Truman pulled away from Rockhurst on Thursday thanks to free throws and
Taurin Hughes made it four in a row for the Bulldogs with the go-ahead three-pointer on Saturday. All in all,
Turner Scott was the leader as he averaged 20.5 points per game with just one turnover in 73 minutes.
Scouting Missouri Southern
In the most recent National Association of Basketball Coaches' top 25 poll, Missouri Southern State received 14 votes, which was good enough for 32nd in the nation. However, the Lions were ranked as high as 25, which is where they were slotted when the 2018-19 preseason poll came out. Since then, MSSU has won six of its first seven games with the lone loss coming in its season opener vs. No. 18 St. Cloud State. The Bulldogs and Lions don't have a common opponent so far, but Missouri Southern did beat GLVC foe, UMSL, by nine, 85-76, on Nov. 15 in St. Louis. MSSU has played just one game at home and it was an 87-point beatdown of Baptist Bible College, 137-50, on Thursday.
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The Lions are in year No. 5 under head coach, Jeff Boschee, who played collegiately at Kansas. There Boschee was the Big 12 Freshman of the Year in 1999-00 and was a Third-Team All-Big 12 pick as a senior. He helped lead the Jayhawks to a Final Four appearance in 2002 and previously held the conference record for three-pointers made in a career with 338. He holds the Kansas record for three's made in a career and is second all-time in games started.
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During his tenure at Missouri Southern, Boschee has accumulated an overall record of 82-46 (.641 winning percentage) including a mark of 52-27 (.658) in MIAA play. The Jayhawk grad led the program to a 15-4 mark in league play in 2017-18. This season, the Lions were picked to win the league by its coaches, but the media slotted them at second behind the current No. 2 team in the nation, Northwest Missouri State.
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This season, there is a trio of Lions averaging at least 10 points per game including Cam Martin (24.0), Kinzer Lambert (19.3) and Elyjah Clark (13.6). For Martin, those 24 points per game are good for second in the MIAA and 11th in all of Division II. Martin is also fourth in the country in field goal percentage (.720), 12th in double-doubles (3) and 13th in field goals made (54). Martin, a sophomore, is in his first year at Southern after a freshman campaign at Jacksonville State where he averaged 4.1 points and 2.6 rebounds per game. He is also the Lions' leading rebounder at 7.9 per contest.
Ugly It Up
During Truman's four-game winning streak, the formula has included tenacious defense with straight up gritty back-and-forth affairs. When the Bulldogs were 0-4, they were giving up 83 points per game and opponents were shooting nearly 52 percent from the field. Since then, the other teams are putting up just 64.5 points per contest with a 42.2 field goal percentage. The Purple and White's scoring defense has vaulted from last in the league up to seventh. Truman is also up to 10th in three-point field goal percentage defense and 11th in field goal percentage defense.
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The Gauntlet Continues
Of Truman's first eight opponents, only two had a losing record and four were featured in the NABC's top 25 (ranked or receiving votes). It doesn't get any easier for the Bulldogs as they have to travel to Missouri Southern State, a team that was ranked No. 25 in the preseason poll and received 14 votes (32nd) in the most-recent poll. That means the Purple and White will have faced the three teams that were picked to finish in the top three in the MIAA in Northwest Missouri, Washburn and Missouri Southern.
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Home Sweet Home
The Lions have quite the home-court advantage. They haven't lost more than four home games in a single season since 2006-07 (8-6). Since then, MSSU has a home record of 119-30, which is good for a winning percentage of .799. Truman will be looking for its first win at Missouri Southern since December of 2006. Since then, the Bulldogs have gone 0-5 on the Lions' home court. With that being said, the Purple and White haven't played at MSSU since the MIAA days in November of 2011.
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That's Our Point Guard
The breakout season for redshirt freshman point guard,
Turner Scott, continues. The 5-10 guard has now scored in double-figures in each of the team's eight games and nine straight if you go back to the end of his redshirt-freshman season. Most recently, Scott poured in a career-high 29 points in Truman's one-point win over William Jewell on Saturday. The Clive, Iowa native made 12 of his 20 field goal attempts and didn't turn the ball over at all in 39 of the game's 40 minutes. Among the GLVC's individual leaders, Scott is now eighth in points per game (16.4) and 11th in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.8).
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The Return
After not playing in the team's first six games due to a foot injury,
Brodric Thomas made his return this past week with starts in both of Truman's first two GLVC games. Thomas played 31 minutes against Rockhurst before just 13 against William Jewell as he faced foul trouble much of the game. Still Thomas was able to average 9.5 points, 7.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, one block, and 0.5 steals per game.
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Up Next
Truman will host Central Christian on Friday (5 p.m.) before an exhibition at Division I Indiana State on Saturday (12 p.m.).
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