KIRKSVILLE, Mo.—The Truman Men's Basketball team looks to continue its strong start to the season as they head to Joplin, Mo. to take on former MIAA conference rivals Pittsburg State and Missouri Southern this Friday as Saturday.
The Bulldogs won the first two games of the season at the GLVC/G-MAC crossover in Quincy, Ill. last weekend as they downed Cedarville 87-80 and Findlay 90-61. Cade McKnight averaged 22 points per game in the two contests along with seven rebounds and 4.5 assists en route to being named GLVC Player of the Week for the first time in his career. Elijah Hazekamp also had a strong showing with a career high 23 points against the Yellow Jackets on Friday, and also tied with Dylan Peeters for the team lead in rebounds with nine per game. Hunter Strait led the team with ten assists in the two contests.
Against Cedarville, the Bulldogs got their first double digit lead in the middle of the first half after Hazekamp hit a three pointer to put Truman up 12 at 27-15. From there the Bulldogs led by double digits most of the rest of the first half and went into halftime up 51-34. However, Cedarville gave the Bulldogs a run for their money at the end of the game by cutting the Bulldog lead to 83-80 with 23 seconds to play. But four points from the foul line sealed the game.
The next day Truman fired on all cylinders in the victory over Findlay. McKnight scored 27 and both Peeters and Hazekamp had double-doubles in the win. Truman never trailed in the game, and by half built up a 43-33 lead and dominated the second half en route to a 29 point victory.
As a team, the Bulldogs are averaging 88.5 points per game and giving up just 70.5. The shooting percentages from the field are .529 and .540 from beyond the arc for the Bulldogs and .846 from the free throw line. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs defense has been smothering as they are holding opponents to .453 from the field and .420 from the three point line. Also Truman is dominating the boards as they are outrebounding opponents 37.5 to 25.
Player Notes
After coming off the bench as the sixth man last season, Hunter Strait has come back into the starting lineup this season and the team has continued like a well-oiled machine.
Masen Miller tied his career high with seven three pointers made against Cedarville in the opener for 21 points, then added another eight against the Findlay. He also tied for the team lead with five assists against the Oilers, with seven total assists on the weekend and two steals as well as a rebound vs UF.
Strait scored 19 points in the two games, with ten against Cedarville and nine against Findlay. He went 5-10 from beyond the arc and dished out eight assists against the Yellow Jackets en route to ten total assists on the weekend. He grabbed three rebounds in each of the two games for six total and also got a steal against UF.
McKnight continues to excel after winning the GLVC Player of the Year award in 2020-21 and had a strong opening weekend by leading the team in points with 44, second with nine assists and third with 14 rebounds.
Peeters scored in double figures both games with ten against Cedarville and 13 against Findlay. He grabbed 11 boards against UF to get his first double-double of the season and also got a steal against them. He recorded five assists over the two games.
Hazekamp scored in double figures both games, with 34 points total. He made six three pointers and went a perfect 6-6 from the foul line. He grabbed 11 boards against Findlay and dished out five assists.
Eric Northweather played 23 minutes off the bench in the first two games and set a new career high with five points against Findlay, grabbed four rebounds in 15 minutes against Cedarville and blocked a shot in the win over the Yellow Jackets.
Keaton Mitchell also provided a spark off the bench with ten points in the two games, with six against Findlay setting a new career high. He also grabbed two rebounds and had an assist against the Oilers.
Sam Nissen had his first double digit scoring game with 11 points against Findlay. The third year guard played three minutes against Cedarville but got 16 against Findlay, going 3-3 from beyond the arc and 4-5 overall from the field in the win over the Oilers. He also got a rebound and an assist.
Josh Ollendieck got an assist in the win over Cedarville, and has played six total minutes over the first two games.
Sam Lock has gotten in on both games with five minutes of action, recording a rebound and an assist in the win over Findlay.
Trey Shearer has seen eight minutes of action over the first two games, and got his first career rebound against Findlay.
Devin Fields came on at the end of the Findlay game for three minutes of action, making his first appearance since January against Missouri S&T.
Series history with Pittsburg State: The Gorillas have the upper hand in the series against the Bulldogs 35-11. However, this will be the first meeting between the two since the Bulldogs left for the GLVC after the 2013 season.
About the Gorillas: Kim Anderson, former coach at Central Missouri, where he won the 2014 Division II National Title; is the man in charge of the Gorillas. In his fifth year at the helm, he comes into the weekend with a 56-58 record at PSU. He was 23-1 against Truman while at CMU. Iziah James leads the team in scoring with 17 points per game and Dejon Waters leads the team with eight rebounds per game.
Series history with Missouri Southern: The Lions have the upper hand 30-18 all time over the Bulldogs, with the most recent meeting being one of the best endings in Truman history as Broderic Thomas hit a deep three at the buzzer to upset the then #7 Lions at Pershing Arena.
About the Lions: The Lions have started the season 1-1 with a double overtime win over Southern Nazarene after falling to Upper Iowa in the season opener. Stan Scott has led the team in scoring with 43 points in the two games, and RJ Smith is leading the team with twenty rebounds. Scott leads the team with seven assists and six steals.
Up Next: Truman will face their toughest test of the early season as they go to Maryville to take on the preseason #1 and reigning National Champions Northwest Missouri State on Tuesday night with a 6:00 tip off. After that, the Bulldogs go to Upper Iowa on Saturday for a 2:00 matinee start.
Misc. Notes
Truman was ranked sixth in the NABC preseason poll, after reaching as high as second in the poll last year and finishing seventh in the final poll last season. The Bulldogs finished last season 20-3 overall and were ranked #1 in the Midwest Region, and were Regional Champions after defeating Michigan Tech in the Regional Final; advancing to the Elite Eight for the first time since the 1998-99 season.
The Bulldogs are the only GLVC team ranked in the preseason top 25, though Southern Indiana and Missouri-St. Louis received votes. Topping the poll is reigning national champion Northwest Missouri State, who earned 15 of 16 first place votes. Rounding out the top five are Flagler, West Texas A&M, Colorado Mesa (who earned one first place vote, and finished the regular season ranked number one in the final NABC poll), and Colorado School of Mines.
GLVC Preseason Poll: Despite ranking number six in the nation and being the only GLVC team ranked in the preseason NABC rankings, the Bulldogs were picked second in the GLVC Central Division with Missouri-St. Louis taking first place. The Triton had 15 points to the Bulldogs 14. The Tritons got three first place votes to two for the Bulldogs (a school cannot vote for itself).
