KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - Truman State Men's basketball begins the 2023-24 season with a roster filled with promising newcomers and returning players with experience. Drew Kingery, Kobi Williams, Blaise Porter, Cooper Randall, Tobias Reizner, Matt Haefner, Brennan Lovette, Adam Sommer, and Jermarco Burse Jr. are the fresh faces on the team. Casen Lawrence, Xavier Hall, Landon Eiland, Joe Knutson, Trey Shearer, and CE Talton are back for the Bulldogs.
The team is looking to prove people wrong, picked last in the GLVC preseason poll. Truman was picked 14th in the poll, receiving 38 total points. Indianapolis received 13 1st-place votes and Illinois Springfield got one 1st-place vote. The Bulldogs had a 12-16 record overall in the 2022-23 season, with seven of those wins coming in GLVC play. Truman finished 7-13 in the GLVC.
Truman State played their first game of the season at Division I and Missouri Valley Conference member Drake in an exhibition. The Bulldogs fell to Drake, the MVC preseason No. 1 team, 95-50 in Des Moines. Truman point guard Xavier Hall led the team in points with 12 on 6-10 shooting. Hall also had three rebounds and four assists. Trey Shearer, Kobi Williams, and Blaise Porter each had nine points against Drake. Casen Lawrence, Landon Eiland, and Joe Knutson all scored points. CE Talton, Brennan Lovette, Adam Sommer, Cooper Randall, Tobias Reizner, Matt Haefner, and Jermarco Burse Jr. recorded minutes against Drake. Preseason MVC Player of the Year and NBA prospect had a game-high 19 points along with three rebounds and two assists. Carlos Rosario and Kevin Overton both had double-digit points, with Rosario having 17 and Overton having 14. 10 other Drake Bulldogs scored points against Truman. The Truman State Bulldogs shot 17-52 from the field for a 32.7 percentage, and were 10-29 (34.5%) from three. Truman made six of their eight free throws.
Truman has some impressive new faces, including probable starter Kobi Williams. Williams played at Westminster Christian Academy in St. Louis, Mo. where he became the school's all-time leading scorer with 1608 points, all-time points per game leader with 23.6, and won the most games in a career with 93. Williams was named Missouri Prep Hoops Class 5 Player of the Year, Class 5 all-state twice, and named St. Louis all-metro Player of the Year in 2022-23. He led his team to three district championships, two state quarterfinals, and was state runner-up in 2022-23. Kobi Williams is just one of the new players on the team with impressive careers prior to arriving to Kirksville.
Findlay, Truman's first opponent, is also playing their first non-exhibition game of the season against the Bulldogs. The Oilers hosted Division I MAC member Toledo in a game that raised $2,700 for charity. Findlay took a 95-70 loss to the Rockets, while hitting 28-of-63 (44.4%) of their shots. The Oilers went 10-21 from three. Nathan Bruns and Jagger Landers led Findlay in points with 12, with Khalil Luster had 11.
The Oilers were picked fourth in the G-Mac preseason poll with 112 points following a 15-13 season where they finished 10-10 in conference play.
The Yellow Jackets of Cedarville have two regular season games under their belt, with a win over GLVC member Missouri-St. Louis and a loss to #9 Central Oklahoma. Cedarville defeated UMSL 75-70 and lost to UCO 82-75.
Through two games, Jayvon Maughmer has been fantastic for Cedarville, averaging 26.5 points with 6.5 boards and 2.5 assists. He scored 31 against UMSL on 11-18 shooting and had 22 against UCO on 9-14 shooting.
Grant Whishman and Chris Rogers are also averaging double-digit points with 12 and 10.5. Jacob Drees leads the team in rebounds with 9.5 a game, and Rogers and Jacob Drees are both leading in assists with 3.0.
Following these two games at home, the Bulldogs take a trip to Emporia, Kansas for a matchup against Emporia State University on Wednesday, November 15th, at 6:30 p.m.
