The Truman men’s basketball team remains alive for a trip to Kansas City and the MIAA tournament, but a win against Lincoln (Mo.) will be necessary as the season’s final week gets underway at 7:30 pm on Wednesday night in Pershing Arena.
The Bulldogs (7-19, 4-14 MIAA) and Blue Tigers (4-20, 4-14 MIAA) trail Emporia State (5-13 MIAA) by one game with two to play, with each in different positions depending on how tiebreaker situations play out. The most basic situation for Truman requires two wins this week coupled with two ESU losses to take the No. 8 seed, with all other results – at best – sending the Bulldogs into tie-breaker mode.
Truman will be trying to even up the season series and run its home winning streak against the Blue Tigers to four following a 68-64 loss in Jefferson City on Jan. 14.
Lincoln got out to a 37-26 halftime lead and never trailed, as Truman allowed the Blue Tigers to shoot 47% overall and 40% from three-point range.
Mike Carlson scored 20 and had seven rebounds, while both Seth Jackson and Isaac Gardner finished in double-figures.
Wednesday night will mark the 75th all-time meeting between the squads, with Truman holding a 42-32 edge in the series. Truman has a 27-10 lead in games played in Kirksville.
Bulldogs to Honor Filchev:
Wednesday night will mark Senior Night for the Bulldog men, meaning the squad’s lone senior – Vesko Filchev – will be honored prior to tipoff.
Filchev will be playing in his 101st career game on Wednesday night, having earned 66 starts and averaging 17.5 minutes per game throughout his career.
He has scored 782 career points and grabbed 484 career rebounds while shooting 52% from the floor.
His 78 career blocks ranks him fourth all-time at Truman.
He has 36 career games with 10 or more points, including a career-best 21 at Missouri-St. Louis on Nov. 24, 2009.
Courtesy Truman State University
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