KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - The Truman State Men play their first GLVC road games against Lewis University and Illinois Springfield on Thursday and Saturday. The Bulldogs play Lewis at 7:30 p.m., and Illinois Springfield at 3 p.m.

Truman went 0-2 last week in their first two conference games of the 2022-23 season against McKendree and No. 20 Indianapolis. Truman fell to McKendree 73-68 and UINDY 80-57. Elijah Hazekamp had 23 points and 11 rebounds in the loss to McKendree, with Hunter Strait scoring 15 and Xavier Hall putting up 12. Strait led the scoring against UINDY with 12 points, followed by Hazekamp and Hall with 11 points each.

McKendree jumped out a 16-8 lead after a Hayden Meakes 3-pointer, but Truman was able to claw their way back in and tie the game 29-29 going into the half. The Bulldogs shot 12-30 (.400%) from the field and were 5-14 (.357%) from three in the first half. McKendree went up 40-31 early in the second half before Xavier Hall made two big shots to cut the Bearcats' lead to one. Truman took a one-point lead with 10:14 left in the game, and would both teams would continue to trade buckets before McKendree went up seven with two Aleksandar Davitkov free throws. The Bearcats held onto their lead, winning by five.

The Greyhounds of UINDY went into the half up three, and were able to keep that lead throughout the second half. Truman was unable to get back into the game, losing by a score of 80-57. Three Bulldogs scored double-digit points in the contest. Hunter Strait led the way with 11, followed by Elijah Hazekamp and Xavier Hall with 11 each. Hall also tallied five assists, three rebounds, and a steal.

Against Lewis:

Truman is 7-8 against Lewis all time, with the Bulldogs taking the second game of the 2021-22 season 89-76 on the road. The Bulldogs are 4-1 in the last five matchups, two of those wins being in Romeoville.

Against Illinois Springfield:

Truman has dominated the series against the Prairie Stars, holding a 9-1 advantage. The Bulldogs have won eight-straight, with their lone loss coming on 3/2/2014.
 

Bulldog Tidbits:

Elijah Hazekamp has made his way up to fourth in scoring in the GLVC, averaging 15.4 points per game.Hazekamp is third in the conference in reboudns per game with 8.8, and tied for first in free throw percentage at 1.000%. 

Freshman Xavier Hall has emerged as on the Bulldogs' top players this season. Hall averages 27.0 minutes per game, along with 8.9 points, 2.6 rebounds, and a team-high 3.8 assists per game. Xavier's 3.8 assists per game is good for fifth-best in the GLVC.

Truman is the conference leader in free throw shooting at 82.8% with Hazekamp tied for the individual conference lead after making all 27 attempts this season. 

Junior CE Talton had a good showing against UINDY, scoring eight points on four shots, grabbing six boards, and recording an assist and block in only 15 minutes.

Coach Jeff Horner is three wins shy of catching Chris Foster for fifth place on the all-time wins chart at Truman State. Horner is sitting at 80 wins in five seasons.  

Up Next:

The Bulldogs will be on the road for a game against No. 17 Southwest Baptist on Saturday, December 10th, at 3:00 p.m.