The Truman men’s basketball defense, which has held opponents to just 63 points per game in the past three contests, will be put to the test this weekend against two of the MIAA’s top offenses, as the Bulldogs host No. 13 Fort Hays (Kan.) State on Thursday night before welcoming Nebraska-Omaha to Pershing Arena on Saturday afternoon.
Truman (6-13, 4-11 MIAA) started this current three-game home stretch with an 80-68 nearly wire-to-wire win against Southwest Baptist last Saturday to pull to within three games of the final slot in March’s MIAA tournament in Kansas City.
The Bulldogs have played their best basketball at home this season, posting a +7 scoring margin and holding opponents to just 41% from the floor en route to six wins.
The Bulldogs kick off a stretch of four games in seven days with the nationally-ranked Tigers (19-3, 13-3 MIAA), who sit one game back of Missouri Southern in the MIAA and fourth in the South Central region entering a road trip that sends them through Kirksville and Warrensburg. FHSU – the MIAA’s top scoring team at 84.0 ppg – just concluded a three-game homestand of its own, closing with back-to-back wins against Missouri Western and Washburn last week.
Then, after playing the last midweek game on the MIAA docket, the Bulldogs turn around to open Saturday’s conference play against the UNO Mavericks (13-7, 10-6 MIAA), who come in riding a three-game winning streak capped by a 26-point victory against Emporia State on Saturday.
The Mavs are fourth in the league in scoring at 80.3 ppg.
Two of FHSU’s losses have come on the road this season, while UNO is just 5-4 away from Sapp Fieldhouse in 2010-2011.
Media Information:
104.7 FM KRES is the official radio home of Truman football, men’s basketball and women’s basketball. Brad Boyer and Hank Janssen will provide coverage throughout the season of Truman basketball on the Moberly-based station.
KRES broadcasts its sports coverage online at centralmoinfo.com. Fans can also watch MIAA games on their computer this season through AmericaOne/B2 Networks for a fee.
Live stats for all Bulldog games throughout the season will be made available via links on the men’s basketball schedule page at TrumanBulldogs.com.
’Dog Bites:
Senior Ethan Freeman (Urbandale, Iowa) is averaging nearly a double-double on the season (11.3 ppg, 9.6 rpg) and is the MIAA’s top rebounder (both total and defensive).
He has eight double-doubles on the season and has set new career-highs this year in points, rebounds and assists.
Senior Alex Henderson (Willard, Mo.) is the team’s leading scorer at 14.7 ppg and has 15 double-figure games this year. He has hit 37 3-pointers at a 40.2% clip and is an 81% free throw shooter.
Junior Vesko Filchev (Plovdiv, Bulgaria) is third on the team in scoring at 9.9 ppg. He is shooting 56% from the field and leads the squad with 17 blocked shots. Vesko has also recorded three double-doubles this year.
Sophomore Tom Norton (Bloomington, Ill.) has a team-high 43 3-pointers to rank fourth on the squad offensively at 9.5 ppg. He is also 37-for-42 from the free throw line this year and is a 92% career free throw shooter. Norton hit 31 in a row during his freshman season.
Senior Stefan Garrison (Osceola, Mo.) has started 15 of 19 games this year and is averaging 4.4 points per game. He has two double-figure scoring games this season.
Senior Brian Nwelue (Lewisville, Texas) has started three of the last four games and is averaging 3.3 points per game on the year. He has swatted six shots in the last three games.
The Truman bench is averaging 23.2 points per game, thanks in part to the effort of two freshmen – Isaac Gardner (Washington, Iowa) and Pat Sodemann (St. Louis, Mo.).
Gardner is the MIAA’s best 3-point shooters at 47% and is scoring 7.4 ppg, while Sodemann has shot 47% overall and is 92% from the free throw line, including a 10-for-10 effort against SBU.
Courtesy Truman State University
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