FEB. 23, 2001
Men's Basketball Hopes to Secure MIAA Tourney Berth at Pittsburg on Saturday
The Game: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate
Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. Pittsburg State University Gorillas
(Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association/NCAA Division II)
Date/Time: Sat., Feb. 24, 3:30 p.m. (CST)
Location: Pittsburg, Kan.
Arena (Capacity): John Lance Arena (6,500)
Broadcast: KRES 104.7 FM, Moberly, Mo., Brad Boyer, play-by-play and Hank Janssen, commentary. The pregame show begins about 20 minutes before the game.
Team Line: Live KRES broadcast by calling 1-800-846-4700. Access Code: 6350. Charges must be billed to a credit card.
MIAA SAAC Food Drive: The MIAA Student-Athlete Advisory Committee, in cooperation with the Truman Captains' Round Table, is sponsoring a food drive to benefit the Kirksville Salvation Army. Until Feb. 24, Truman student-athletes will be collecting canned food items door-to-door throughout the community. A drop-off point is located at Pershing Arena on the campus of Truman State University for those wishing to make a donation.
TRUMAN PROBABLE STARTERS
3-Mike Peterson, Sr., G, 5-11, 176 (10.1 ppg, 3.7 rpg)
4-Aaron Mueller, Fr., G, 5-10, 170 (2.9 ppg, 1.0 rpg)
20-Nathan Owen, Jr., G, 6-2, 205 (7.4 ppg, 3.0 rpg)
25-Scott Coykendall, Jr., F, 6-4, 210 (12.7 ppg, 5.5 rpg)
35-Brian Brown, Sr., F, 6-6, 216 (14.6 ppg, 6.8 rpg)
PITTSBURG STATE PROBABLE STARTERS
21-Brandon Pate, Sr., G, 5-11, 170 (15.7 ppg, 3.1 rpg)
24-Ryan Odaffer, Fr., G, 6-0, 170 (7.7 ppg, 2.0 rpg)
20-Dan Stanley, Jr., F, 6-5, 215 (16.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
33-Max Ruark, Jr., G/F, 6-6, 195 (8.2 ppg, 6.4 rpg)
10-Jai Pradia, Jr., F/C, 6-7, 225 (12.1 ppg, 6.5 rpg)
Truman (7-18, 3-14 MIAA): The Bulldogs remain in the hunt for their fifth consecutive MIAA postseason tournament berth despite suffering an 84-62 loss on Wednesday to Missouri-Rolla. That loss made it three-teams tied with 3-14 MIAA records, and threw another wrinkle into the race for the final berth in the conference tournament. One of the 3-14 teams (Truman, UMR and Emporia State) will keep its season alive by earning the eighth and final seed position, while the other two will be forced to look to 2001-02.
Truman can still get into the postseason tourney in a variety of ways. If the 'Dogs win at Pittsburg State (Kan.) on Saturday and Missouri-Rolla loses to Washburn (Kan.), Truman claims the tournament spot. The Bulldogs will also make the tournament field with a loss, provided Emporia State (Kan.) and UMR also lose their Saturday games. Should Truman and Missouri-Rolla both win, it will come down to the winner of the Northwest Missouri-Missouri Southern game. Because a Northwest victory and a Washburn loss gives NWMSU the top seed in the tournament, Truman would then own a tiebreaker advantage over UMR, while a Missouri Southern win would put UMR in the postseason, provided the Miners beat Washburn.
The Bulldogs hold a tiebreaker over Emporia State (Kan.), and could potentially hold one over UMR, based on Truman's upset victory last month over Northwest Missouri.
Brown in Exclusive Company: Senior forward Brian Brown (Centralia, Mo.) is just the seventh Bulldog since 1958 (when Truman's rebounding records began) to have accumulated 1,000 points and 500 rebounds for a career. He joins an exclusive list that includes Cory Parker (1995-00) with 1,835 points and 955 rebounds, David Winslow (1977-81) with 1,447 points and 996 rebounds, Jason Reinberg (1996-00) with 1,429 points and 915 rebounds, Larry Swift (1958-61) with 1,329 points and 821 rebounds), Claude Wilson (1967-71) with 1,058 points and 635 rebounds and Lou Gregory (1969-73) with 1,049 points and 764 rebounds.
Pittsburg State (19-8, 12-5 MIAA): The Gorillas have a little something to play for as well, although they've already clinched a first-round home game for the conference tourney. PSU could move up to a No. 3 seeding for next week's tournament, which means the Gorillas would draw a No. 6 seed for the tournament opener, rather than a No. 5.
PSU has lost two of their last four games, but come in off an 80-68 win on Wednesday over Emporia State. Junior forward Dan Stanley led the way with 23 points, while senior guard Brandon Pate tallied 20 and junior forward Jai Pradia added 18.
Stanley is the Gorillas scoring leader, at 16.5 points a game for sixth in the league, while Pate is a close second with 15.7 per game (eighth in the MIAA). Pradia, the top PSU rebounder (6.5 rpg, 10th in the MIAA) averages 12.1 points. Both Pate and Pradia have stepped up their scoring numbers in conference play -- Pate averages a team-best 17.9 points in league action, while Pradia has put up a 13.6 average in MIAA contests. Pradia is also the MIAA's leading shot-blocker, averaging 2.0 blocks a game, and Pate is third in the league in assists (5.04 pg) and fifth in steals (2.07 pg), in addition to his scoring numbers.
The Gorillas rank second in the MIAA in both three-point field goal percentage (.362) and three-point field goal defense (.325). They're also No. 2 in defensive rebounds (24.22 pg). Prior to the Gorillas' win over ESU on Wednesday, they suffered a 75-66 home loss to Southwest Baptist, their lone home defeat of the year and a game in which Pate had 38 of his team's 66 points. PSU lost 88-85 at Washburn on Feb. 10, but collected an 86-83 overtime win at Missouri Southern on Feb. 14.
Coaches Records: Bulldog head coach Jack Schrader is in his sixth season at Truman and has a career record of 80-85. (.485) He is 3-7 versus Pitt State.
Gene Iba is in the 21st year of his head coaching career with a record of 347-256 (.575). At Pittsburg State, he is 121-54 (.691) in his sixth year.
Series Record with PSU: Pittsburg State leads 14-7
Games at Kirksville, Mo.: Pittsburg leads 8-4
Games at Pittsburg, Kan.: Pittsburg leads 5-2
Neutral Site Games: Series tied 1-1
Last Meeting: Jan. 27, 2001, at Kirksville
Last Truman Win: 86-64, Feb. 26, 2000, at Kirksville
Last PSU Win: 83-61, Jan. 27, 2001, at Kirksville
Most Points by Truman: 91 (91-74), Jan. 2, 1975, at Springfield, Mo.
Most Points by PSU: 93 (93-64), Jan. 3, 1998, at Kirksville
Largest Truman Win: +22 (86-64), Feb. 26, 2000, at Kirksville
Largest PSU Win: +29 (93-64), Jan. 3, 1998, at Kirksville
Current Streak: PSU won 1
Last Truman win at Pittsburg: 76-74, Feb. 24, 1999
Last PSU win at Kirksville: 83-61, Jan. 27, 2001
Bulldogs in the MIAA (Through games of Feb. 22): Truman comes in as the MIAA leader in defensive rebounds (25.76 pg). The 'Dogs are also second in field goal defense (.425) and third in scoring defense (67.7 ppg allowed).
Individually, Brown ranks in ninth-place in scoring (14.6 ppg), and seventh in rebounding (6.8 rpg). He's also fifth in blocks (1.08 pg).
Senior Mike Peterson (Mason City, Iowa) is seventh in three-point field goal percentage (.394) and tied for 10th in threes made per game (1.72).
Junior forward Scott Coykendall (Elmwood, Ill./Spoon River College) is 15th in rebounding (5.5 rpg).
Truman vs. Missouri-Rolla (Feb. 21): The Bulldogs connected on only five field goals in the first half and fell behind early, leading to an 84-62 loss on Wednesday night to Missouri-Rolla. Truman shot just under 17 percent for the first half, and trailed 45-17 at halftime.
Meanwhile, UMR drained 42.1 percent of its first-half shots, including 52.9 percent (9-17) from three-point land.
The Miners led by as many as 31 points in the game, which saw the 'Dogs shoot 43.3 percent in the second half, but to no avail.
Junior guard Nathan Owen (Cape Girardeau, Mo./Southeast Missouri State) scored 12 points in the second half, while missing just one field goal attempt and going 5-of-6 at the free throw line. He finished with a team-high 17 points and eight rebounds. Brown also charted 17 points and eight boards.
UMR was led by 29 points and 21 rebounds from freshman center Brian Westre. Senior guard Kasim Withers finished with 25 points and freshman Brad Fischer added 15, all in the first half and all on three-pointers.
Bulldogs Among Career Leaders: Brown is now within just three points of joining the top 10 in career scoring, as he now has 1,212 points. Just the 18th Bulldog to collect 500 career rebounds, he's moved to within eight rebounds of tying Lee Smith for 15th all-time after his eight boards on Wednesday moved him into 16th, passing Scott Bobysud. With 67 blocked shots, Brown needs only two more to tie Rick Rigsbee for fifth in career blocked shots. Brown also ranks to fourth in career free throws with 293 for his career. He joins former teammates Cory Parker and Jason Reinberg in the top four of that category. Brown is also tied for 21st in career assists (161).
Peterson is 17th in career assists (199), and is also just five three-pointers away from fifth place. He also ranks eighth in steals (101) and 16th in career free throws (195). Peterson is 116 points short of 1,000 for his career.
BITS ON THE BULLDOGS:
5-Peter Aydt (Elgin, Ill./St. Edwards): A senior guard, Aydt had a career-high seven points versus Lincoln and matched the total with seven points, all in the second half versus PSU ... with 36 points on the season, has surpassed his previous career total (23) ... has played in 20 of the 25 games with 11 starts ... leads team with an assist-turnover ratio of 2.83 ... led the team in assists versus Hannibal-LaGrange and Drury ... matched career high in points when he scored seven in 12 minutes vs. PSU.
40-Matt Beran (Victor, Iowa/HLV-Victor): A freshman forward, Beran tallied a career- and team season-high four blocked shots in Truman's win over SIU-Edwardsville ... one of six players to have played in each game ... has seven starts ... ranks third on the team in rebounding (4.6 rpg), fifth in assists (40, 1.6 apg) and sixth in scoring (96 points, 3.8 ppg) ... has two double-doubles on the year ... his first came in the Bulldogs' win over Hannibal-LaGrange when he charted 10 points and 10 rebounds ... his second, also a 10-point, 10-rebound effort, came in his first career start, versus Central Missouri ... tied a team season-high and set a career-high with five assists in the loss to Lincoln ... has been the top bench scorer in six games this year.
35-Brian Brown (Centralia, Mo.): A senior forward, Brown is just the seventh player in school history to have 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds ... the team's scoring and rebounding leader this year with averages of 14.6 points and 6.8 rebounds per game ... had a streak of 21 straight free throws before missing once in the last SBU game ... tied for second on team in assists (46, 1.84 pg) ... leads team with 27 blocked shots, which ranks 11th on the school's single-season list (since 1978-79) and is more than any player since 1994-95 ... is second on the team in steals (17) ... has played in all 25 games, starting each ... has played in every game since the beginning of the 1998-99 season, a total of 85 straight contests ... is up to 11th all-time at Truman in career scoring (1,212 points) and is three points away from joining the Truman career top 10 in scoring ... moved up to fourth all-time in free throws made (293) and 16th in rebounding (533) ... has scored in double figures in 20 of 25 games this year, including five games with 20 or more points ... has three double-doubles on the season ... matched his career-high and set a team season-high with 28 points in the loss to Lincoln ... had 27 points vs. SBU ... also had a team season-high in field goals with 10 vs. LU ... ranks ninth in the MIAA in scoring, seventh in rebounding and fifth in blocked shots (1.08 pg).
52-Dusty Bruner (Galesburg, Ill.): A junior center, Bruner went a perfect 2-of-2 at the foul line and grabbed two rebounds in the win over Hannibal-LaGrange, his only action of the season.
25-Scott Coykendall (Elmwood, Ill./Spoon River College): A junior transfer from Spoon River College in Canton, Ill., Coykendall ranks second on the team in scoring (12.7 ppg) and rebounding (5.5 rpg) ... has scored in double figures in 17 of 25 games this year, including five efforts of 20 or more points ... his last 20-plus outing came on Feb. 7 when he notched a career-best 25 points vs. Missouri Western ... tallied his first senior college career double-double with 23 points and a career-best 13 rebounds in a win over Monmouth (Ill.) ... had a streak of 11 consecutive games with double figure points ... among the squad's top free throw shooters and has connected on 74.8 percent of his attempts at the stripe ... shooting 79.1 percent (72-of-91) at the foul line in MIAA games ... tied for second on team with 46 assists (1.84 apg) ... leads team with 48 offensive rebounds ... has led the team in scoring eight times this season and in rebounding eight times ... one of three players to start every game this year ... ranks 15th in the MIAA in rebounding.
14-Eric Delaney (Marceline, Mo.): Delaney will receive a medical redshirt for this season as he has been sidelined for most of the games with an ankle injury ... saw action in three games this year prior to the injury ... tied for team lead with two steals in the exhibition game versus Southeast Missouri ... scored his lone point of the year in the Bulldogs' win over Hannibal-LaGrange ... had two rebounds in each of the wins over SIU-Edwardsville and Westminster.
Bill Farr (Kirksville, Mo.): Scored his only two points in his only game of the season, the win over SIU-Edwardsville ... a redshirt freshman forward.
15-Torre Finley (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield): Played in 19 games with four starts, averaging 12.9 minutes an outing ... has 61 points (3.2 ppg), 32 rebounds (1.7 rpg), 12 assists, six steals and two blocks ... collected his first career start on Feb. 5, 2001 vs. Washburn (Kan.) ... has 54 points in his last nine games (6.0 ppg) ... had his first collegiate double-figure scoring game with 10 second-half points versus Pittsburg State (Kan.), also had 10 points vs. Missouri Southern ... also had career-highs with five field goals in both games ... walk-on guard who moved up to the varsity and gradually into a part-time starting role from the junior varsity squad.
Adam Glosier (St. Charles, Mo./U.S. Military Academy): A sophomore center, Glosier started and played 20 minutes in the 'Dogs exhibition loss to Southeast Missouri ... will receive a medical redshirt after suffering a knee injury in practice early this season ... he scored five points and had three rebounds and a steal in the exhibition game with SEMO ... transfer from the U.S. Military Academy (West Point).
32-Cory Long (Moberly, Mo.): Long has played in five varsity games this season, seeing a total of 12 minutes of action ... had his first career steal vs. Quincy on 1/22/01 and his first rebound vs. Missouri Southern ... Played briefly versus SIU-Edwardsville, had three-minute stints versus Quincy (Ill.) and Pittsburg State (Kan.) and a four-minute outing against MSSC ... a walk-on guard who started out with the junior varsity.
50-Dan Mailath (Tulsa, Okla./Bishop Kelley): Mailath had a career-high five points in Truman's win over Hannibal-LaGrange ... has played in 11 of the 25 games this year, collecting his first two career starts ... has 20 points, 18 rebounds (11 offensive), three assists, two steals and two blocks in 59 minutes of action this year ... went 4-of-6 at the foul line vs. MSSC and grabbed three offensive boards ... also had three ofensive caroms, and scored four points in three minutes in the last game vs. UMR ... a junior center.
Bret Maxwell (Derby, Iowa/Chariton): Maxwell played briefly in Truman's win over Hannibal-LaGrange, his only playing time of the year ... a walk-on forward, playing mostly with the JV.
11-Jiri Mikl (Ostrava, Czech Republic/University Laboratory HS-Urbana, Ill.): Is averaging 8.8 points per game in MIAA action after averaging just two points in non-conference play ... ranks fifth on the team in scoring (6.6 ppg) ... has played in all 25 games this year with 11 starts ... has nine double-figure scoring efforts this season ... has made good on 47.1 percent (33-70) of his three-point attempts ... shooting a team-best 51.5 percent from the field in MIAA games, and 49.2 percent overall ... has hit on 49.2 percent (31-63) of his threes in conference play ... a career 91.7 percent free throw shooter (22-24) ... established career highs in points (22), field goals (8), attempts (13), three-pointers (6) and rebounds (10) in the first meeting this year with Missouri-Rolla ... has hit at least one three-pointer in 12 of the 17 conference games ... has 10 career double-digit scoring games ... had a perfect shooting night at Washburn last month, hitting 5-of-5 field goals, 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 at the stripe for 13 points.
4-Aaron Mueller (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran North): A freshman guard, Mueller averages 14 minutes per game off the bench ... averaging 5.0 points in his last five games ... has played in all 25 games with two starts ... is a perfect 14-of-14 at the free throw line ... had a career-high eight points in the win over Hannibal-LaGrange and matched it versus Emporia ... logged a career-best three steals versus Westminster ... has 73 points (2.9 ppg) and 24 rebounds (1.0 rpg) with 19 assists and seven steals on the year ... has hit 15 three-pointers ... one of six Bulldogs to have played in every game ... has been the top bench scorer in five games this year.
00-Jeff Nepple (Carroll, Iowa): Has seen action in two games this season, scoring two points with one rebounds and one blocked shot in six minutes of play ... saw his first action of the year on Feb. 14, 2001 vs. Northwest Missouri ... played five minutes in that game, recording one rebound and one blocked shot ... had his first career field goal in his only attempt of the year in the final moments vs. Missouri-Rolla on 2-21-01 ... freshman guard who has moved up with the varsity from the junior varsity squad.
20-Nathan Owen (Cape Girardeau, Mo./SE Missouri St.): A junior guard, Owen has started 12 games and has played in 21 of the squad's 25 contests ... returned for the last SBU game after missing four games with back trouble ... ranks fourth in scoring (7.4 ppg) ... fourth on team with 41 assists (1.95 pg) ... had a career-high five assists vs. Emporia on 2/17/01 ... has nine double-figure scoring games this year, including a career-high 17 points vs. Missouri-Rolla (2-21-01) ... also had a career-best eight rebounds in that game ... scored 14 points each vs. Westminster and SIU-Edwardsville ... connected on a career-high four of eight three-point goals versus Central Missouri ... has hit at least one three-pointer in eight of the 13 MIAA games in which he has played ... redshirt junior who sat out 1999-00 after transferring from Division I Southeast Missouri State.
3-Mike Peterson (Mason City, Iowa): Ranks third on the team in scoring (10.1 ppg) and leads the team with 33 steals (1.32 pg) ... Senior guard shooting 41.3 percent from the field, and 39.4 percent from the three-point line ... Shooting 83 percent (44-53) from the foul line this year ... a career 84.8 percent (195-230) free throw shooter ... has hit on 87 percent (180-of-207) of his charity tosses since his freshman year ... has 55 assists (2.2 apg) to lead the team ... leads team in minutes, averaging 33.6 per game ... charted career-highs with 27 points and eight field goals in the 'Dogs' win over SIU-Edwardsville ... has reached double figures in 13 games this season, including two with 20 or more points ... finished with a game-high 20 points in Truman's upset win over NWMSU last month ... had a career-high nine rebounds in the loss to Drury ... comes in seventh in the MIAA in three-point field goal percentage and tied for 10th in threes made (1.72 pg) ... ranks fourth on the team in rebounding (3.7 rpg) ... is sixth all-time at Truman in career three-point goals and eighth in steals (101) ... also 16th in career free throws and 17th in career assists (199).
42-Eric Wade (Lee's Summit, Mo./North): Has played in 19 games this season ... logged his first career start in the loss to Drury ... had a career-high seven points in the loss to Lincoln ... reached career highs in blocks (3) and rebounds (10) versus Quincy (Ill.) ... has six blocks this year ... has 35 points (1.8 ppg), 38 rebounds (2.0 rpg), eight assists and two steals on the year ... averages 7.9 minutes per game ... has played in 27 career games.
Truman vs. Pittsburg State (Jan. 27): Pittsburg State shot 50 percent from the floor for the game, and never trailed as Truman fell 83-61 to the Gorillas on Jan. 27. PSU connected on 56.3 percent of its threes, including 71.4 percent in the second half.
The 'Dogs trailed 43-26 at halftime after shooting 36.7 percent in the first half. Truman found its stroke a bit better in the second half, converting on 50 percent of its attempts from the field, but could get no closer.
Mikl and freshman walk-on Torre Finley (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield) each had 10 second half points for Truman. Mikl finished with a team-best 15 points, while Coykendall added 14. Finley charted 10 points on 5-of-8 shooting in 13 minutes of second-half action.
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