FEB. 7, 2001

Men's Basketball Continues Homestand by Hosting Missouri Western

The Game: Truman State University Bulldogs (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association/NCAA Division II) vs. Missouri Western State College Griffons (Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association/NCAA Division II)
Date/Time: Wed., Feb. 7, 7:30 p.m. (CST)
Location: Kirksville, Mo.
Arena (Capacity): Pershing Arena (2,600)

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.

Campus radio station KTRM, 88.7 FM will also broadcast tonight's men's game as well as the Feb. 21 home finale with UMR.

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, will sponsor a food drive to benefit the Kirksville Salvation Army. Fans who bring one non-perishable food item to the Feb. 10 or 21 men's or women's basketball games will gain free admission. Also, from Feb. 10-24, Truman student-athletes will be collecting canned food items door-to-door throughout the community. A drop-off point will be 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 (11.2 ppg, 4.2 rpg)
15-Torre Finley, Fr., G, 5-9, 165 (3.0 ppg, 1.1 rpg)
11-Jiri Mikl, So., F, 6-6, 182 (7.1 ppg, 3.2 rpg)
25-Scott Coykendall, Jr., F, 6-4, 210 (12.5 ppg, 5.0 rpg)
35-Brian Brown, Sr., F, 6-6, 216 (13.5 ppg, 6.4 rpg)

MISSOURI WESTERN PROBABLE STARTERS
1-Charles Bailey, Sr., G, 6-3, 185 (16.9 ppg, 6.6 rpg)
3-Nick Orr, Jr., G, 6-3, 185 (6.7 ppg, 1.9 rpg)
44-Ty Moss, Jr., G, 6-0, 190 (6.4 ppg, 1.7 rpg)
14-Reggie Alexander, Sr., F, 6-6, 230 (18.9 ppg, 7.3 rpg)
35-Lamont Turner, Jr., F, 6-4, 210 (13.9 ppg, 6.3 rpg)

Truman (6-14, 2-10 MIAA): Truman comes in looking for its third MIAA win of the season with hopes of gaining some ground in the standings. A Truman win, coupled with a loss by Southwest Baptist, would pull the 'Dogs to within a game of seventh-place SBU with a head-to-head meeting scheduled with the Bearcats on Saturday.

Truman's two wins in conference play came via 68-58 decision over then No. 5-ranked Northwest Missouri and a 59-45 victory over Missouri-Rolla. The 'Dogs have been on the verge of three more MIAA triumphs, falling by two points in each of their meetings with conference-leading Washburn and another two-point loss last month to MSSC.

Three Bulldogs average double figures in the scoring column, led by senior forward Brian Brown (Centralia, Mo.) who averages a team-best 13.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Junior forward Scott Coykendall (Elmwood, Ill./Spoon River College) is second on the team at 12.5 points, but leads the team in MIAA action with an average of 12.4 points. He is followed by senior guard Mike Peterson (Mason City, Iowa) at 11.2 points per game overall, and 10.8 in MIAA games.

Over the last five games, however, sophomore Jiri Mikl (Ostrava, Czech Republic/University Laboratory HS-Urbana, Ill.) leads the team with a 13.6 scoring average. After a slow start, Mikl has come on to average 10.6 points in his last 12 games, compared with 1.8 in the first eight. He's shooting 50.9 percent from beyond the arc and 51.5 percent from the field. He has led the team in three of their last five games, including a 22-point, 10-rebound effort vs. Missouri-Rolla for his first ever double-double.

Another new face to make an impact has been freshman Torre Finley (St. Louis, Mo./Whitfield). He has scored 35 points in the last four games (8.8 ppg), while collecting over half his minutes (94). Finley played in only 10 of the first 16 games, collected just 69 minutes and scored seven points.

Missouri Western (14-6, 8-4 MIAA): The Griffons have won five straight games, including road wins over Central Missouri (74-62) and Emporia State (Kan.) (76-67) and a home victory over Pittsburg State (91-85). On Monday night, MWSC won at Emporia State behind 20 points and 10 rebounds from senior guard Charles Bailey. Senior forward Reggie Alexander added 18 points, nine rebounds and four blocks as the Griffons won their fourth straight MIAA contest.

Alexander is MWSC's leader in most categories, and he ranks in the top 10 in six MIAA statistical areas. He averages a team-high 18.9 points (third in the MIAA) and 7.3 rebounds (fifth in the league). Alexander is also third in the conference in blocks (1.55 pg), fifth in three-point field goal percentage (.435), sixth in field goal percentage (.530) and ninth in threes made per game (1.85).

Bailey is sixth in the conference in scoring (16.9 ppg) and eighth in rebounding (6.6 rpg). He's also eighth with a 50.2 field goal percentage, seventh in assists (3.55 pg) and eighth in assist-turnover ratio (1.54). Junior forward Lamont Turner's 13.9 points per game gives the Griffons three players ranked the conference's top 13 for scoring. Turner also averages 6.3 rebounds (11th in the MIAA). Junior guards Nick Orr and Ty Moss are eighth in the league in steals (1.65 pg) and three-point percentage (.397), respectively.

The Griffons are the MIAA's top scoring offense, coming in averaging 83 points a game. They also lead the league in offensive rebounds (14.05 pg) and are second in field goal percentage (.482), three-point defense (.323) and assists (16.85 pg).

Coaches Records: Bulldog head coach Jack Schrader is in his sixth season at Truman and has a record of 79-81. He is 2-9 versus Missouri Western.

Tom Smith is in the 26th year of his head coaching career and hsi 13th season at Missouri Western. For his career, Smith is 440-293 (.600) and at MWSC, he has a mark of 270-109 (.712).

SERIES RECORD WITH MWSC: MWSC leads 23-18.
Games at Kirksville, Mo.: Missouri Western leads 11-7
Games at St. Joseph, Mo.: Missouri Western leads 12-10
Neutral Site Games: Truman leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Jan. 10, 2001, at St. Joseph
Last Truman Win: 75-73, Jan. 12, 2000, at Kirksville
Last MWSC Win: 81-66, Jan. 10, 2001, at St. Joseph
Most Points by Truman: 91 (91-82), Nov. 21, 1987, at Kirksville, Mo. & (91-89), Feb. 23, 1994, at St. Joseph, Mo.
Most Points by MWSC: 101 (101-81), Jan. 24, 1977, at St. Joseph, Mo.
Largest Truman Win: +16 (36-20), Dec. 20, 1929, at St. Joseph, Mo.
Largest MWSC Win: +39 (96-57), Feb. 9, 2000, at St. Joseph, Mo.
Current Streak: MWSC won 2
Last Truman win at St. Joseph: 88-85, Jan. 18, 1995
Last MWSC win at Kirksville: 71-67 Jan. 6, 1999

Bulldogs in the MIAA (Through games of Feb. 5): Truman comes in again as the MIAA leader in defensive rebounds (25.65 pg) and remains second in scoring defense (66.3 ppg). The 'Dogs are back up to second in field goal defense (.428).

Individually, Brown ranks in 17th in scoring, 10th in rebounding and sixth in blocked shots (0.95 pg)

Peterson is seventh in both three-point field goal percentage (.418) and three-pointers made per game (1.90). He's also ninth in steals (1.50 pg).

Freshman Matt Beran (Victor, Iowa/HLV-Victor) is ninth in blocked shots (0.75 pg) and Coykendall ranks ninth in free throw percentage (.747).

Truman vs. Washburn (Feb. 5): The Bulldogs outscored Washburn 31-17 over the final 10:26 of the game, but came up just short on Monday night, as the 11th-ranked Ichabods escaped Pershing Arena with a 71-69 win. Ewan Auguste put back a Randolph Williams miss at the buzzer to snap a 69-69 tie and beat the Bulldogs.

Truman trailed by 16 points, 54-38, with 10:26 remaining after Washburn opened the second half on a 21-6 run to reach its largest lead of the contest. That's when the 'Dogs started their comeback. Coykendall hit a jumper to spark Truman on a 9-2 run that cut the deficit to nine points, 56-47, with 7:22 to go. But WU kept the Bulldogs at arm's length over the next three minutes, and led by nine after a Shannon Kruger three-pointer with 4:33 to play.

A three-pointer by Peterson kicked off a 15-6 Bulldog run, and Peterson capped the rally when he drove to the hoop and scored on a layup with 3.9 seconds remaining. That tied the score at 69-69 and overtime looked to be a very real possibility.

But on the ensuing inbounds play, Washburn threw the ball beyond halfcourt, where Williams picked it up and drove in to attempt a mid-range jumper. The shot caromed off the rim and fell into the waiting hands of Auguste, who put the shot back as time expired.

Truman's magnificent rally, which saw it connect on nine of its final 11 shots and eight of 10 free throws, fell just short.

Peterson, who scored each of his 11 second-half points in the final 7:22, finished with 19 points to lead four Bulldogs in double figures. Mikl tallied 16 points and a team-high eight rebounds. Brown and Coykendall added 13 and 12 points, respectively. Finley added eight points as the 'Dogs managed just one point off the bench.

For the game, Truman shot a season-high 55.8 percent from the floor, including 52.6 percent from three-point range (10-of-19).

Bulldogs Among Career Leaders: Brown has closed to within two points of 13th-place Jack Beck on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list . Brown currently stands 14th wit 1,114 points. On Wednesday Brown moved into sole possession of sixth place on Truman's career free throws list with 270, four behind fifth-place Claude Wilson. Brown is also seven boards behind 18th place Dan Storck and 10 away from 500 rebounds for his career. He also ranks 22nd in career assists with 157 and is in sixth place on the Bulldogs' career blocked shots list with 59. With 10 more, he'll tie Rick Rigsbee for fifth place.

Peterson remains sixth in career three-pointers with 154, but has closed to within 10 of fifth-place Jason Ramthun. Peterson is 13th in career free throws with 191 and remains 20th in career assists with 185, but has closed to within two of 19th-place Justin Matthews. Peterson is also 145 points shy of joining the 1,000-point club.

BITS ON THE BULLDOGS:

5-Peter Aydt (Elgin, Ill./St. Edwards): A junior 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 16 of the 20 games with 10 starts ... ranks sixth on the team in assists ... 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: A freshman forward, Beran tallied a career- and team season-high four blocked shots in Truman's win over SIU-Edwardsville has played in every game, including seven starts ... ranks second on the team in rebounding (5.2 rpg), fourth in assists (35, 1.75 apg) and sixth in scoring (88 points, 4.4 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 ... ninth in the MIAA in blocks(0.75 pg).

35-Brian Brown: A senior forward, Brown is the team's scoring and rebounding leader with averages of 13.5 points and 6.4 rebounds per game ... leads team in assists (42, 2.1 pg) ... leads team with 19 blocked shots, more than any player since 1994-95, and is second in steals (16) ... has played in all 20 games, starting each ... has played in every game since the beginning of the 1998-99 season, a total of 80 contests ... currently 14th all-time at Truman in scoring (1,114 points) ... is sixth all-time in free throws made (270) and 19th in rebounding (490) ... has scored in double figures in 15 of 20 games this year, including three 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 ... also had a team season-high in field goals with 10 vs. LU ... shooting 79.5 percent at the foul line in MIAA games (40-of-49) ... ranks tied for 17th in the MIAA in scoring, 10th in rebounding and sixth in blocked shots (0.95 pg) ... has hit his last 12 free throws.

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: A junior transfer from Spoon River College in Canton, Ill., Coykendall ranks second on the team in scoring (12.5 ppg) and third in rebounding (5.0 rpg) ... has scored in double figures in 14 of 20 games this year, including four efforts of 20 or more points ... tallied his first senior college career double-double with career-highs in points (23) and rebounds (13) in a win over Monmouth (Ill.) ... matched his career-high in points versus Emporia ... had a streak of 11 consecutive games with double figure points ... among the squad's top free throw shooters and has connected on 74.7 percent of his attempts at the stripe ... shooting 76.3 percent (45-of-59) at the foul line in MIAA games ... third on team with 36 assists ... leads team with 39 offensive rebounds ... has led the team in scoring seven times this season and in rebounding five times ... one of three players to start every game this year.

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.

00-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: Played in 14 games, averaging 11.6 minutes an outing ... has 42 points (3.0 ppg), 16 rebounds, seven assists and four steals ... collected his first career start on Feb. 5, 2001 vs. Washburn (Kan.) ... has 35 points in his last four games (8.8 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 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 four varsity games this season, seeing a total of 11 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 nine of the 20 games this year, collecting his first two career starts ... has 15 points, 13 rebounds two assists and a block in 49 minutes of action this year ... went 4-of-6 at the foul line vs. MSSC and grabbed three offensive boards ... 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: Mikl had a career day at Missouri-Rolla, establishing career-highs in points (22), field goals (8), attempts (13), three-pointers (6), three-point attempts (9) and rebounds (10) ... came on strong early in the MIAA season and has played in all 20 games this year ... leads team in field goal percentage (.515, 50-of-97) ... has connected on 27 of his 53 three-point attempts (.509) ... averaging 7.1 points and 3.2 rebounds ... has scored in double figures in seven of the last 11 games ... had a perfect night from the field vs. WU on Jan. 8, 2001, hitting 5-of-5 field goals, 3-of-3 from beyond the arc and 2-of-2 at the stripe for 13 points ... has scored 127 points in his last 12 games (10.6 ppg), compared with 14 points in the first eight (1.8 ppg) ... shooting 55.1 percent from the field in MIAA games (43-of-78) ... has hit 21-of-22 free throws as a Bulldog, including all 14 attempts this year ... has hit at least one three-pointer in nine of the 12 MIAA games ... has eight career double-figure scoring games.

4-Aaron Mueller (St. Louis, Mo./Lutheran North): A freshman guard, Mueller averages 12.9 minutes per game off the bench ... has played in all 20 games with one start ... is a perfect 8-of-8 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 ... averaging 2.4 points and 0.9 rebounds with 11 assists and five steals on the year ... has hit 10 three-pointers ... one of six Bulldogs to have played in every game.

20-Nathan Owen (Cape Girardeau, Mo./SE Missouri St.): A junior guard, Owen has started 10 games and has played in 17 of the squad's 20 contests ... has missed the last three games while battling a back injury ... ranks fourth in scoring (7.6 ppg) ... fifth on team with 33 assists (1.94 pg) ... has eight double-figure scoring games this year, including two career-high 14-point performances (versus 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 five of the nine MIAA games in which he has played ... redshirt junior who sat out 1999-00 after transferring from Southeast Missouri State

3-Mike Peterson: Ranks third on the team in scoring (11.2 ppg) and leads the team with 30 steals (1.50 pg) ... Senior guard shooting 44.8 percent from the field, including 41.8 percent from the three-point line ... Shooting 87 percent (40-of-46) from the foul line this year ... a career 86 percent (191-of-223) free throw shooter ... has hit on 88 percent (176-of-200) of his charity tosses since his freshman year ... has 41 assists to rank second on the team ... leads team in minutes, averaging 34.1 per game ... charted career-highs with 27 points and eight field goals in the 'Dogs' win over SIU-Edwardsville ... has reached double figures in 12 games this season, including two with 20 or more points ... finished with a game-high 20 points in Truman's upset win over NWMSU ... had a career-high nine rebounds in the loss to Drury ... comes in ninth in the MIAA in steals, seventh in three-point field goal percentage and threes made (1.90 pg) ... ranks fourth on the team in rebounding (4.2 rpg) ... is sixth all-time at Truman in career three-point goals ... also 13th in career free throws and 20th in career assists (185).

42-Eric Wade (Lee's Summit, Mo./North): Has played in 16 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 ... averaging 2.2 rebounds and 1.8 points in 8.3 minutes per game ... has played in 24 career games.

Truman vs. Missouri Western (Jan. 10): The Bulldogs and Missouri Western waged a tight battle throughout much of the game, but the Griffons ended the contest on a 14-4 run in an 81-66 Truman loss on Jan. 10 at St. Joseph.

After Missouri Western led 41-38 at halftime and extended the lead to eight points early in the second half, Truman used a 16-9 spurt, keyed by two three-pointers from Mikl, to get to within 59-58 at the 10:10 mark. Five minutes later, the Bulldogs were still well within striking distance, trailing 67-62 on the strength of back-to-back Coykendall buckets. That's when the Griffons kicked off their decisive, game-ending rally that gave them their largest lead of the game at the final horn.

The first half saw Truman hold several leads, the last of which came with 5:49 left with the 'Dogs up 25-24. Western would manage to lead by eight with 53 seconds to go before the half, but a quick Peterson three and a dunk by Brown cut it to 41-38 at the break.

Brown paced the Bulldog attack with 16 points and nine rebounds, while Mikl and Coykendall both finished with 13. Peterson had 12 points, all in the first half, and was 4-of-8 from three-point land.

MIAA Standings

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