Jan. 30, 2009 – Truman heads back out on the road for a two-game swing beginning with Emporia State on Sunday afternoon at 3:30 p.m. The ‘Dogs lost to the Hornets in their first meeting back on Dec. 29th in Kirksville by a score of 63-58.
The Bulldogs nearly captured a dramatic home victory on Wednesday night in Pershing Arena but Banks Estridge’s contested lay-up bounced off the rim three times before falling off in a 60-59 loss to Pittsburg State. Vesko Filchev scored a career-high 18 points while Estridge added 13 with four assists.
Truman trailed by as many as 12 late in the first half but quickly erased that deficit behind an 11-2 run to start the second half. Over the final 13 minutes, the game was tied seven times with Truman holding their largest lead of three points with just under four minutes to play.
The Hornets dropped their third straight game on Wednesday night in a 75-58 loss at Missouri Western. The Griffons led by only two at the break but scored 42, second half points for the 18-point victory. Lamar Wilbern was 9-of-16 from the floor, including a pair of triples, to lead Emporia State with 20 points.
Dominique Thuston had five treys for the Griffons and was 10-of-13 from the field for a game-high 25 points.
In the Bulldogs/Hornets first meeting this season, Robert Moores scored 19 points, including a clutch three-pointer with :16 seconds left to lift Emporia State to the 63-58 win. Ethan Freeman and Patrick Fandja tied with 12 points to lead the Truman scoring attack.
WHAT’S AT STAKE?:
Truman lost a game in the standings to Missouri Western and the eighth spot in the MIAA standings on Wednesday night. The top eight teams in the MIAA advance to the postseason tournament in Kansas City. The Bulldogs are 4 ½ games behind the Griffons. Fort Hays State, Missouri Southern and Missouri Western all have six conference victories but the Bulldogs have a head-to-head win over Western.
Emporia is two games back of Central Missouri for the conference lead and are seventh in the first set of NCAA South Central regional rankings. The Hornets are tied in record with Nebraska-Omaha and Washburn and just one game ahead of the Fort Hays, Southern and Western group.
Truman is looking for their first win on the road this season (0-8) and their first road win since defeating Missouri Western on Feb. 20, 2008.
Emporia State is 9-1 at home this season and are coming off three consecutive road losses. Their only home blemish was a 104-69 setback to Southwest Baptist on Jan. 3rd.
BULLDOGS BITES:
- Senior Banks Estridge is the team leader in points, assists and steals. Estridge averages 10.5 points per game, has 51 assists and 30 steals. He is averaging 1.58 steals per game, good for eighth in the MIAA.
- Sophomore Ethan Freeman is second in scoring at 9.9 points per game and the top rebounder. Freeman is currently 10th in the conference in board per game at 5.9. He is second on the team in assists with 39 and shoots 50% from the floor.
- The Bulldogs have had 12 different starting lineups this season through 19 games. Only one combination (Fandja, Freeman, Estridge, Gabe Landau, Alex Henderson) has started four games together. Truman has had five different starting line-ups the last six games.
- In road conference games this season, Truman is averaging 58.7 points per game, shooting 41.7% from the field and 29.2% from outside. Opponents are averaging 73.7 points, shooting 46.9% from the floor and 41.1% from beyond the arc.
- The Bulldogs are 5-0 when leading at the half, 5-3 when winning the battle of the boards.
- Truman is averaging 63.0 points per game and has a season-high 97 against Central Christian College. The Bulldogs are fourth in the conference in scoring defense, allowing 67.9 points per game.
- Three Bulldogs have topped 20 points in a game this season. Patrick Fandja holds the season-high with 23 points against Missouri Western last time out. Fandja also had 22 against Washburn. Banks Estridge’s 21 against UNO and Northwest is third. Ethan Freeman scored 20 against William Woods.
- Fandja and Brandon Griffin have recorded the only double-doubles this season. Fandja had 23 and 11 against Missouri Western and 22 and 11 against Washburn on Dec. 13th while Griffin scored 19 and had 12 rebounds against Central Christian College on Nov. 20th.
SCOUTING EMPORIA STATE:
Since the two teams last met, the Hornets are 4-4. Emporia State debuted at seven in the first NCAA South Central regional poll that was released on Wednesday.
The Hornets are third in the conference in field goal percentage (47.8%) and second in both three-point shooting (40.3%) and defensive three-point shooting (29.9%) but are last in free throw percentage (62.5%). Emporia makes 8.47 three-pointers a contest, which is good for second in the MIAA.
Lamar Wilbern lead Emporia in scoring at a 15.8 points per game clip. Wilbern is seventh in conference scoring and scored a season-high 27 points in a quadruple overtime game against Pittsburg State on Jan. 10th.
Wilbern is also third in the league in rebounds per game (7.8), eighth in field goal percentage (45.9%), and first in defensive rebounds per game (6.53).
Robert Moores leads the conference in three-point field goal percentage. Moores has connected on nearly 50% of his three-point attempts (43-of-87) and averages 2.26 treys a game.
COACHES:
Jack Schrader is in his 14th season as head coach of the Bulldogs. He has an overall record of 153-225. Schrader has guided two Bulldog team to the NCAA Division II tournament. The 1998-99 team finished their season at the NCAA Final Four, while the 2005-06 team was a participant in the NCAA South Central regional.
Truman has only had three men’s basketball coaches since 1946, Boyd King (1946-1971), Willard Sims (1971-1995) and Schrader (1996-present). Schrader has twice been named the MIAA and NABC South Central region Coach of the Year.
Coach Schrader picked up his 150th victory of his career as Bulldog head coach in a 97-71 win over Central Christian on Nov. 20th. He is currently third all-time among Truman coaches trailing Boyd King (379 wins) and Williard Sims (310 wins).
David Moe is in his eighth season at Emporia State and has guided the Hornets to a 127-93 overall record.
SERIES:
This is the 35th meeting between Emporia State and Truman. The Hornets lead the all-time series with the Bulldogs 21-13.
The Bulldogs are 6-10 in games played at White Auditorium in Emporia. Truman’s last win on the road against the Hornets was an 88-78 win in 2007. The Bulldogs last win the in series was 88-75 in the MIAA tournament in Kansas City.
UP NEXT:
Truman will play their fourth road game out of the last five played next Wednesday as they travel to Topeka and pay a visit to the Washburn Ichabods.
Washburn won 66-58 on Dec. 13th in Kirksville and will host Missouri Western on Saturday prior to Truman’s game next Wednesday.