A short turnaround awaits the Truman men’s basketball team for its third MIAA game of the season, as the Bulldogs head back on the road for a Tuesday (Dec. 7) contest at Southwest Baptist (Mo.) in Bolivar. Tipoff from John Q. Hammons Court will be at 7:30 p.m
The Bulldogs (2-4, 0-2 MIAA) are coming off a 91-68 loss at Pittsburg (Kan.) State on Saturday afternoon,its third straight loss and second straight to open the MIAA slate.
Truman will look to control its miscues – a point of emphasis from head coach Jack Schrader following the PSU loss – against SBU, who has forced their opponents into an average of 20 turnovers per game so far this year.
The Bearcats (5-3, 2-0 MIAA), meanwhile come into Tuesday night’s game on a five-game winning streak, including MIAA week one wins against No. 12 Central Missouri (96-78) and Lincoln (93-81).
SBU has averaged 98.4 points per game during its current streak of wins and are hitting nearly 14 three-pointers per game all year.
Tuesday night will mark the 44th meeting in the all-time series between the Bulldogs and Bearcats, with SBU holding a 26-17 edge.
SBU has won the last five games against Truman, but the Bulldogs have been able to hold the Bearcats below their season scoring average each time.
Under head coach Jack Schrader (since 1995), the Bulldogs are 11-17 against Southwest Baptist and have gone 4-10 in Bolivar.
The last win for the Bulldogs at SBU came in the 2006-2007 season – an 81-68 win on Jan. 20, 2007.
The Bulldogs are led offensively by senior guard Alex Henderson (16.2 ppg), who continues to be a model of efficiency by having reached double-figured in each of Truman’s six games this year.
Fellow senior Ethan Freeman (10.8 ppg, 9.0 rpg) is just shy of a double-double average, and sophomore Tom Norton sits just outside of a double-figure average at 9.7 points per outing.
Schrader has been running a variety of combinations on the court, as only four players average more than 20 minutes per game and only six are above the 15 minute per game mark.
The Truman women’s basketball team will look for their second straight conference road win and third straight overall when they head to Bolivar, Mo. and face off against the Southwest Baptist Bearcats on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 55-46 victory at Pittsburg State on Saturday.
Truman outscored the Gorillas 36-17 in the second half to erase a 10-point halftime deficit and were led in scoring by junior Breanna Daniels and freshman Nicole Gloor’s 14 points each.
Daniels has been in double-figures in all five games this season and is currently tied for third in the conference scoring race at 17.0 points per game.
She is tied for first in free throw percentage at 93.8% and third in three-point field goal percentage at 42.9%. Daniels is also among the league leaders in minutes played per game at 34.8, which is fourth.
Gloor has averaged 17 points in her last three games and 11.0 points per game overall while shooting 47% from the field and 78% from the foul line.
Last week against Missouri Southern, when Gloor was on the floor,
Truman outscored the Lions 44-20 and was on the floor in the second half against Pitt when the Bulldogs outscored the Gorillas 32-11.
Senior Amy Galey recorded a career-high nine rebounds against Pitt on Saturday.
Galey is second in the MIAA in assists at 4.8 per game, seventh in defensive rebounds at 5.0 and sixth in minutes played at 33.6.
The Truman bench is averaging 27.0 points per game after last season’s 19 per game and outscoring the opposition bench by 14 points.
The key to the game with the Bearcats will be turnovers and steals.
The Bulldogs have a league-worst minus five turnover margin while the Bearcats are tied for first at a plus 8.3.
SBU averages 11.5 steals per game, good for fourth in the MIAA with Whitney Malone leading the team at 3.3 per game, second in the conference.
Southwest Baptist is 4-2 on the young season and 1-1 in conference play.
Courtesy Truman State University
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