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SOUTHERN ARKANSAS
MULERIDERS
0-0 (0-0 GAC)
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NEBRASKA KEARNEY
LOPERS
0-0 (0-0 MIAA)
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MINOT STATE
BEAVERS
0-0 (0-0 NSIC)
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Friday, November 11 | 7 p.m.
CVC Gymnasium - Lancaster, Texas
LIVE STATS
Saturday, November 12 | 5 p.m.
CVC Gymnasium - Lancaster, Texas
LIVE STATS |
Tipping Off
The 2016-17 NCAA Basketball season is finally here and the Southern Arkansas Men's Basketball team is set to open their year with a pair of games in Lancaster, Texas as part of the GAC/MIAA/NSIC Challenge.
The first opponent for the Muleriders will be Nebraksa Kearney of the Mid-America Intercollegiate Athletics Association (MIAA). Last year, the Lopers won over 20 games and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Division II Tournament. The game against UNK is set for a 7 p.m. tip-off on Friday, November 11.
SAU's second opponent on the weekend is Minot State out of the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC). Last year SAU and Minot opened each other's seasons at this very venue and the Beavers went on to got 15-14 overall and win 10 of those games in the NSIC, a league that produced the NCAA Champion in Augustana. Tip-off for the Muleriders and Beavers' game is set for 5 p.m. on Saturday, November 12.
MULERIDER NEWS & NOTES
Last season, the Muleriders averaged 77.2 points per game, which ranked third in the GAC. Defensively, the Muleriders ranked sixth in scoring defense in the GAC at 74.9 points per game, and their +2.3 scoring margin ranked fourth in the league.
As a team, the Muleriders shot .468 (871-of-1,862) overall from the floor, which included a shooting mark of .322 (173-of-538) from long range. From the free throw line, the Muleriders shot .605 (402-of-665). Their overall field goal percentage ranked second in the GAC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranked 10th. At the charity stripe the Muleriders' percentage ranked 12th.
Individually, the Muleriders had four players average double figures in scoring with
Deon Andrews leading the team at 12.3 points per game.
Jaron Davis was next on the team at 12.2 ppg. while
CJ Elkins averaged 11.5 ppg.
Alvin Braddock rounded out double-digit scoring last season at 10.0 ppg.
Last year's leading rebounder in terms of rebounding average was
Denarious Lockhart with 7.5 rpg in 22 games played. Braddock, however, led the team in total rebounds with 194. Davis was the top assist man on the team with an average of 3.7 assists per game.
COACH
The Muleriders are coached by
Andy Sharpe, who is in his fifth season at Southern Arkansas. In his time at SAU, Sharpe has amassed a 54-58 overall record.
Over the past two seasons, Sharpe has begun to turn the Muleriders into serious contenders in the GAC as SAU has won 24 conference games and have finished in the top half of the standings each year as well. Overall in the past two seasons, Sharpe has guided the Muleriders to a 32-25 record while also posting consecutive winning seasonsfor the first time since the 2000-01 and 2001-02 seasons.
SCOUTING NEBRASKA KEARNEY
The Nebraska Kearney men's basketball team is set to open their 2016-17 season with a pair of games against Great American Conference opponents in SAU and Henderson State.
Last season, the Lopers went 21-12, finished as runners-up in the MIAA Tournament and advanced to the NCAA Tournament 2nd Round. For the year, they averaged 78.6 points per game, which ranked second in the MIAA. Defensively, the Lopers ranked fourth in scoring defense in the MIAA at 73.0 points per game, and their +5.6 scoring margin ranked second in the league.
As a team, the Lopers shot .483 (856-of-1,772) overall from the floor, which included a shooting mark of .376 (231-of-615) from long range. From the free throw line, the Lopers shot .815 (572-of-702). Their overall field goal percentage ranked third in the MIAA while their 3-point field goal percentage ranked sixth. At the charity stripe the Lopers' percentage ranked tops in the MIAA.
Individually, the Lopers had three players average double figures in scoring with Connor Beranek leading the team at 25.2 points per game. Trey Lansman was next on the team at 15.2 ppg. while Ethan Brozek rounded out double-digit scoring last season at 12.7 ppg.
Last year's leading rebounder in terms of rebounding average was Bernanek with 8.6 rpg in 33 games played. Brozek was the top assist man on the team with an average of 3.8 assists per game.
COACH
The Lopers are coached by Kevin Lofton, who is in his second season as the head coach at UNK. While he is just in his second year as the head coach, Lofton has been with the Lopers since 1995 when he came as a graduate assistant coach. Over his time at UNK, Lofton was promoted within the program and was the co-head coach for 10 years prior to him taking over fully. In that time, Lofton helped lead the Lopers to a 177-137 record. Last season, in his first as head coach, the Lopers went 21-12 and advanced to the NCAA Tournament 2nd Round.
THE SERIES
This will be the first-ever meeting between Southern Arkansas and Nebraska Kearney.
SCOUTING MINOT STATE
The Minot State men's basketball team opens their new season with a pair of games against Great American Conference opponents in SAU and Henderson State.
Last season, the Beavers went 15-14 overall and finished 10th in the vaunted NSIC after going 10-12 in league play. For the year, Minot averaged 76.7 points per game, which ranked 11th in the NSIC. Defensively, the Beavers ranked fifth in scoring defense in the NSIC at 75.3 points per game, and their +1.4 scoring margin ranked ninth in the league.
As a team, the Beavers shot .452 (766-of-1,696) overall from the floor, which included a shooting mark of .384 (217-of-565) from long range. From the free throw line, the Beavers shot .749 (474-of-633). Their overall field goal percentage ranked 10th in the NSIC while their 3-point field goal percentage ranked fifth. At the charity stripe the Beavers' percentage ranked third in the NSIC.
Individually, the Beavers had three players average double figures in scoring with Tyler Rudolph leading the team at 17.5 points per game. Michael Pelo was next on the team at 10.4 ppg. while Chris Davis rounded out double-digit scoring last season at 10.2 ppg.
Last year's leading rebounder in terms of rebounding average was Rudolph with 8.7 rpg in 29 games played. Dominique McDonald and Nathan Mertens were the top assist men on the team with an average of 3.1 assists per game each.
COACH
The Beavers are coached by Matt Murken, who is in his fifth year at Minot State. Murken helped Minot transition to NCAA Division II and in his previous four seasons, Murken has led the Beavers to a 47-65 overall record. Last season was the first in which Murken and the Beavers finished above the .500 mark, going 15-14 overall.
THE SERIES
This will be the second meeting between Southern Arkansas and Minot State with the initial victory going to the Muleriders, 66-53. This will be the second time in as many years that SAU and Minot will play each other in Lancaster, Texas at the beginning of their schedules.
