SCHEDULE CHANGE: Truman Men's Basketball hosts Iowa Wesleyan on Monday

Truman Men's Basketball Game Notes (Game 6)

Full Notes (PDF) | 2013-14 Schedule | 2013-14 Statistics

Game #6: Truman (5-0, 0-0 GLVC) vs. Concordia Seminary (Mo.)

Date: Saturday, December 14, 2013 (6:00 PM CDT)

Location: Kirksville, Mo. || Pershing Arena

Series Record: Truman leads, 10-3.

Last Meeting: Truman won, 88-54, on January 26, 1957 in Kirksville, Mo.

Woodley vs. CS: 0-0

Series Streak: Truman W-10

Record in Kirksville: Truman leads, 5-2. (Truman W-5)

Last CS Win in Kirksville: Concordia won, 31-27, on Feb. 7, 1931.

Live Stat Links: Regular/Mobile || Media

Live Audio: 99.9 FM KIRK (Moberly, Mo.); Brad Boyer (PBP), Hank Janssen (Color)

Social Media: @TrumanAthletics || @TSUBulldogHoops || #TSUGameDay

Opening Tip:

Out to its best start since the 2008-09 season, the Truman men's basketball team returns to Pershing Arena for the first time in more than a month to face Concordia Seminary (Mo.) at 6 p.m. on Saturday (Dec. 14) night.

The Bulldogs (5-0, 1-0 GLVC) have been on the road since a Nov. 11 86-47 home win against Central Christian (Mo.), picking up three wins along the way against NCAA Div. II opponents. Most recently, Truman kicked off its first Great Lakes Valley Conference season with a 79-68 road win at long-time rival Quincy on Saturday, Dec. 7. The Bulldogs rode a career-best 37 points from senior forward Mike Carlson along with 17 points by junior guard Seth Jackson to kick off GLVC play with a 1-0 mark.

Truman's Saturday night opponent will be the Preachers of Concordia Seminary, located in St. Louis. The game will mark the 14^th in the all-time series between the schools; however, it has been more than 20,000 days since the programs last met when Truman dispatched CS 88-54 on January 26, 1957 in Kirksville. The Bulldogs lead the all-time series, 10-3, having won 10 in a row after opening with three straight losses from 1928-1931.

Matt Woodley is in his third season as the head coach of the Bulldog program, having compiled a 23-37 record in his two-plus seasons at the school.

Projected Starters:

G – #2 – Seth Jackson – 6'3" – 200 – JR – 11.8 ppg | 4.6 rpg | 1.4 apg | 49% FG; 5 O-Rebs

G – #4 – Reed Mells – 5'11" – 165 – JR – 11.2 ppg | 3.2 rpg | 5.8 apg | 43% FG; 10 steals

F – #5 – Mike Carlson – 6'9" – 200 – SR – 21.6 ppg | 6.4 rpg | 0.8 apg | 70% FG, 5 blocks

C – #21 – Marek Bush – 6'6" – 245 – SR – 4.0 ppg | 3.2 rpg | 0.6 apg | 69% FG, 5 O-Rebs

G – #22 – Kyle Kanaskie – 5'11" – 170 – FR – 10.0 ppg | 3.8 rpg | 3.0 apg | 6 steals; 93% FT

Off the Bench:

G – #3 – Isaac Gardner – 6'4" – 205 – SR – 5.2 ppg | 0.8 rpg | 0.0 apg | 5 3-ptrs, 3 steals

G – #11 – Cole Myers – 6'3" – 190 – SO – 4.3 ppg | 1.3 rpg | 1.7 apg | 100% FT

G – #12 – Cory Myers – 6'3" – 190 – SO – 6.3 ppg | 1.8 rpg | 1.5 apg | 4 steals; 100% FT

G – #20 – Dominic Kacich – 6'3" – 170 – JR – 3.3 ppg | 1.7 rpg | 1.3 apg | 44% FG

C – #24 – Kiefer Starbird – 6'10" – 200 – rFR – 0.3 ppg | 0.7 rpg | 0.0 apg | 5.0 MPG

G – #30 – Andrew Vander Zwaag – 6'3" – 185 – rSO – 8.2 ppg | 1.8 rpg | 1.0 apg | 49% FG; 7 steals

F – #32 – Connor Erickson – 6'8" – 190 – rFR – 0.7 ppg | 2.0 rpg | 1.0 apg | 5.7 MPG

C – #35 – Patrick Burmester – 6'9" – 235 – JR – 1.8 ppg | 3.8 rpg | 0.5 apg | 1 block

F – #40 – Billy Daniel – 6'6" – 200 – FR – 1.8 ppg | 0.5 rpg | 0.5 apg | 60% FG

2013 Redshirts:

G – #10 – Hank Mathews – 6'2" – 185 – FR

F – #25 – Connor Lusso – 6'6" – 210 - FR

Staff:

Head Coach: Matt Woodley

Career Record: 23-37 || .383 || 3^rd season (all at Truman)

GLVC Record: 1-0 || 1.000 || 1^st season

Associate Head Coach: Chris Foster (1^st season)

Assistant Coach: Mike Annese (1^st season)

Athletic Trainer: Nicole Buck (1^st season)

Off to a Blazing Start:

The Bulldogs have won five in a row to start a season for only the 12^th time in 94 seasons of basketball at the University.

This season's 5-0 start marks only the fourth time in the past 50 seasons that a Truman program has started with five consecutive wins.

With a win on Saturday, the Bulldogs will move into the 9^th-best start in program history.

The all-time best start was a 19-0 record to kick off the 1946-47 season. That year was legendary coach Boyd King's first season at the helm. King's 1947-48 team holds the second-best start in school history at 10-0.

Truman's win last Saturday at Quincy marked the first time the program starting 1-0 in league play in back-to-back seasons since the 1993-94 / 1994-95 years.

Only two teams in the GLVC West division remain unblemished, as Truman joins nationally-ranked Drury. The Panthers have started their season 7-0. Currently four teams in the East division have started undefeated (UIndy/Lewis at 6-0; Bellarmine/USI at 5-0).

Top 'Dogs:

The Bulldogs are the top-ranked team in NCAA Div. II in both turnovers per game (8.4) and won-lost percentage (tied with 28 other teams). On an individual level, Cory Myers is one of four qualifying free throw shooters to sit atop the individual FT% chart at 100%.

Truman boasts the GLVC's top scoring defense (62.2 ppg), while ranking second in scoring margin (+22.8), field goal defense (40.9%), turnover margin (+6.4), and assist-to-turnover ratio (2.02). The Bulldogs are also fourth in the GLVC in three-pointers (8.6 per game).

Individually, Mike Carlson ranks fifth in the league in points per game (21.6) and sixth in field goal percentage (70.2%). Junior guard Reed Mells is top-5 both in assists per game (5.8) and steals (2.00 per game), while backcourt mate freshman Kyle Kanaskie is third both in free throw percentage (92.9%) and assist-to-turnover ratio (3.75)

Scouting the Preachers:

Little is known about the Bulldogs' Saturday night foe, as Concordia Seminary has played limited competition to start its 2013-14 season. The Preachers defeated Central Christian (Mo.) 66-59 in their season-opener, getting 22 points from 6-foot-4 Daniel Burge and a 20-point, 12-rebound, 7-assist night from 6-foot-1 Casey Kegley.

From there, the team has played multiple JV and club programs while also losing by 20 to the St. Louis College of Pharmacy.

The squad features just three players that are 6-foot-4 or taller but have recruited nationwide with no players calling Missouri their home state on the team's 13-man roster.

Tim Saleska is the head coach of the CS program.

Carlson Puts On Show in GLVC Opener:

Senior forward Mike Carlson continued his season-opening tear last Saturday night at Quincy, as the Wisconsin-native scored a career-high 37 points, added seven rebounds, and picked up two blocks as Truman earned its first GLVC victory in program history at long-time rival Quincy.

Carlson connected on 13-of-16 field goals (81.3%), including a 5-of-7 mark (71.4%) from behind the three-point line, while also draining six free throws in a team-high 38 minutes of work against the Hawks. He scored 21 of his 37 points in the second half, shooting 7-of-9 overall (4-of-5 3PTR), as part of Truman's +14 scoring advantage in the final 20 minutes after trailing by three at the break.

The 37 points tied for the sixth-most in program history and marked the most by any Bulldog in a single-game in nearly 20 years, dating back to January 1994 when Scott Matthews set the program benchmark with 43 against Emporia State.

It marked the second time in three games, and third time for his career, that he surpassed the 30-point mark in a game. His previous career-high came in a 34-point effort at Central Missouri in 2012.

Jackson Moves Into Starting Five:

After coming off the bench in the team's first four games this season, junior guard Seth Jackson rewarded his head coach after being moved into the starting lineup for the team's GLVC opener at QU on Saturday. The St. Louis-native responded to the call with a 17-point, four-rebound night against the Hawks, adding an assist and a steal in 28 minutes of work.

For his career, he has appeared in 58 games and is averaging 12.0 points and 4.3 rebounds per game.

Guardians of the Rock:

The Bulldogs' new 1-2 punch of junior Reed Mells and freshman Kyle Kanaskie has paid early dividends, as the tandem has combined for more than 20 points and nearly nine assists per game. The duo has also taken care of the ball, helping the Bulldogs to the nation's No. 1 turnover rate of just 8.4 per game, while each rank in the GLVC's top-six in assist-to-turnover ratio.

Blazing 10:

The Bulldogs have gone 8-2 in their last ten regular season games, dating back to the close of last season. During that time, defense has been the key, as Truman has limited six of the teams to 68 points or fewer, with only one team surpassing 80 points in a contest.

The Bulldogs have also gone 5-1 in their last six regular season games away from Pershing Arena.

Inching Towards 1,100:

With five more victories, the Truman men's basketball team will become just the 60^th Div. II program to accumulate 1,100 program wins. There have been 254 all-time Div. II programs, meaning the Bulldogs sit in the top-quarter of all Div. II programs in total victories.

Making a Splash from Downtown:

The Bulldogs have made at least one three-pointer in every game since Feb. 12, 2003, a stretch of 284 consecutive games.

Bulldogs Pegged Fifth in GLVC West:

Head coach Matt Woodley's squad was picked to finish fifth in the GLVC West Division preseason coaches' poll.

The Bulldogs finished six points ahead of William Jewell for the fifth spot in the West division, as selected by all 16 league coaches. Defending NCAA Div. II national champion Drury (Mo.) earned 10 first-place votes and 115 total points to lead the West, while Maryville (Mo.) notched the remaining six first-place votes in the West to land second with 107 points.

A tight battle put third and fourth separated by just one point, with Missouri-St. Louis (87) and Quincy (86) taking those spots. The Bulldogs and WJC were followed by Missouri S&T (37) and Rockhurst (34) to round out the West.

On the Eastern side of the league, Bellarmine logged nine first-place votes and 113 total points to earn preseason favorite status, followed by Southern Indiana (101; three first-place votes), Indianapolis (95; two first-place votes) and Lewis (83; two first-place votes) in the top half. UW-Parkside, Illinois Springfield, Saint Joseph's and McKendree slid in fifth through eighth respectively.

The Bulldogs will play an 18-game conference slate in 2013-14 during their first season as GLVC members, playing Maryville, Missouri-St. Louis and Quincy twice each, while facing the other 12 programs just once. The top four teams from each division, along with four wild card teams, will qualify for the 12-team conference tournament that follows the regular season.

Up Next:

The Bulldogs begin a busy three-game stretch next week with a Tuesday (Dec. 17) night home contest against Faith Baptist (Iowa). Tipoff from Pershing Arena is set for 7 p.m.

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