KIRKSVILLE, Mo. - The Truman State Bulldogs Men's basketball team is back to .500 in GLVC play following two wins at home against McKendree and Missouri-St. Louis. The Bulldogs defeated McKendree 87-74 and UMSL 73-60 to reach a record of 9-11 overall.
Truman has Lewis and Indianapolis next up, both being on the road. The Bulldogs and Lewis Flyers play at 7:30 p.m. on Feb. 8 and they take on the UINDY Greyhounds at 3 p.m. on Feb. 10.
Against Lewis, Truman State got off to a scorching start, leading 21-6 with 11:44 left in the first-half. The Bulldogs would go into the half up 47-26 while shooting 19-32 (59.4%) from the field and 9-19 (47.4%) from three. Truman got up by as much as 25 in the second-half, but the McKendree Bearcats put up a fight, cutting the lead 11 with 4:50 remaining. Two threes from Landon Eiland and Matt Haefner put the Bulldogs up 83-68 before McKendree started fouling. Kobi Williams and Xavier Hall hit late free throws to ice the game, with the Bulldogs winning by 13. Landon Eiland led the Truman squad in scoring with 16 points along with a rebound, three assists, and a block. Kobi Williams and Brennan Lovette both had 15 points, with Lovette going 6-7 from the field and 2-4 from three. Williams had four boards, three assists, a block, and two steals. Lovette added five rebounds, five assists, and two steals. Matt Haefner had an efficient 11 points on 5-7 shooting. Xavier Hall was the final double-digit scorer, dropping 10 with two rebounds, five assists, and a steal. Trey Shearer led the team in rebounds and assists, grabbing seven rebounds and dishing out nine assists. Shearer also had nine points. Casen Lawrence and CE Talton scored points in the game, with Lawrence having six and Talton scoring five..Joe Knutson was an effective rebounder, recording four with a block as well. Blaise Porter had two assists and a steal.
Against UMSL, The Bulldogs got behind early and quick, with the Tritons of UMSL going up 9-0 at the 14:29 mark of the first-half. Truman went on a run shortly after, tying the game up 11-11. Both teams traded leads for the rest of the half before UMSL went into the break up 32-28. The Tritons extended their lead to nine with 17:35 left, and once again the Bulldogs rallied. Truman took the a 45-43 lead at the 10:58 mark and did not give it up for the rest of the game. The Bulldogs outscored the Tritons 45-28 in the second-half while shooting 16-23 from the field and a remarkable 10-13 from three. Trey Shearer led the Bulldogs in scoring with 17 on 6-12 shooting from the field and 5-10 from three. He also had four assists and a steal. Blaise Porter was second in points with 13 on an efficient 5-7 shooting. Porter recorded a rebound and two assists. Xavier Hall and Landon Eiland were Truman's other double-digit scorers. Hall had 11 on 5-6 shooting with three rebounds, a game-high nine assists, and a steal. Eiland had 10 on 3-5 shooting with five rebounds, and an assist. Brennan Lovette and Matt Haefner both had eight points in the game, with Lovette shooting 3-4 and Haefner going 3-6. Haefner also had five rebounds, with two being offensive. Casen Lawrence, CE Talton, and Kobi Williams also recorded points. Joe Knutson did not score any points but had four rebounds in the game. As a team, Truman shot 26-49 (53.1%) from the field and 14-25 (56.0%) from behind in the arc. Truman State sits at 9-11 overall and an even 6-6 in conference play. Their record at home also improves to 7-2 on the year.
As a team, Truman ranks 10th in PPG (73.6), 13th in scoring margin (-3.3), 13th in defense (78.9 allowed), and eighth in team FG% (.458). The Bulldogs have been excellent shooting the three, ranking second in 3-point percentage at .397 and first in 3-pointers made at 11.0. Truman is ranked second in free throw percentage (.778), and first in assists per game (17.30).
The Lewis Flyers are 11-9 overall and 7-5 in the GLVC which puts them fourth in the conference. They are 8-1 at home but 2-7 on the road. Their last two games were against Maryville and Missouri S&T, where the Flyers took losses 63-62 and 73-69. Their only home loss was to then No. 7 Ferris State 89-87.Â
Lewis' Beau Frericks is seventh in scoring in the GLVC, averaging 16.6 points per game. No other Flyer is inside the top 25. Ryan Renfro is third in rebounds per game and leads the team with 7.3 a game. Gary Solomon grabs 4.9 per game which puts him 23rd in the GLVC. Gary also leads the team and is 13th in FG% at .509. Frericks is 21st in shooting percentage at .467. Jamere Hill leads the squad in assists per game with 3.0, which places him 10th overall.
The UINDY Greyhounds are 14-6 overall and and 10-2 in conference play. Their 10 wins puts them first in the league by a game over Upper Iowa. They are 7-2 at home, 7-3 on the road, and 0-1 in neutral site games. Their only two home losses were their first two of the season, falling to Saginaw Valley 70-67 and Lake Superior State 64-62.
The Greyhounds have two players that are top 25 scoring in the conference, with Jesse Bingham 11th at 15.0 points and Paul Zilinskas at 12.5. Kendrick Tchoua is seventh in rebounding at 6.7 boards per game, followed by David Ejah in 12th with 6.1. Tchoua is second in field goal percentage at .634 in 20 games and 131 attempts.
Following the games against Lewis and UINDY, Truman returns home for the final home games of the season against Maryville, Missouri S&T, UIS, and Quincy.
