PREVIEW: Men's Basketball at Hendrix College (11/15)
MULTIMEDIA COVERAGE
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OPENING TIP
The University of Dallas men's basketball team opens the 2016-17 campaign at Hendrix College on Tuesday. First tip is around 7 p.m. following the women's game between the same two schools. Dallas is looking to improve from a 10-15 season. Head coach Jarred Samples enters his ninth season at the helm for the Crusaders and boast a 25-man roster with nearly the same amount of returners (12) as newcomers (13).
Dallas Men's Basketball Season Preview
UD NOTABLES
- The last time the Crusaders tipped off a season in the Maher Center was 2010-11 against Southwestern University. This is the second consecutive year UD starts the schedule at Hendrix.
- Dallas was 3-11 in contests away from the friendly confines, including 2-9 in true away games.
- Five players that started at least 13-of-25 games are back this year. Michael Sarrat (Colleyville, Texas) and Lorenzo Gonzalez (San Antonio, Texas) were in the starting lineup every tilt.
- The senior tandem led the top two scoring categories with Sarrat averaging 12.8 points-per-game (ppg). Gonzalez was right behind at 12 a game. Gonzalez also dished 112 assists.
- Tom Kaiser (Nashville, Tenn.) compiled career-highs in points (253), ppg (11.0), rebounds (192 – 8.3 Reb/G), and blocks (33 - 1.4 Blk/G).
- The forward ranked third in the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) in rebounding average and fourth in the league in blocks.
SCOUTING THE WARRIORS
Hendrix begins its new season as well on Tuesday. The Warriors went 4-22 overall last year and 3-11 against Southern Athletic Association (SAA) opponents.
Preston Smith is the returning leading scorer from 2015-16. He was one of two players to surpass the double-digit plateau mark in ppg with a 10.4-clip. He accumulated 270 points and 30 steals, which both ranked second on last year's squad. Gearen Littlefield paced the team in rebounding with 142. He had a team-leading 57 on the offensive glass.
Dallas is 12-17 in the all-time series against the Warriors. Dallas split two games last season in head-to-head matchups, with the home team prevailing on its respective courts. At Conway, Arkansas, the Crusaders never closed the gap in either half and fell 88-79. Sarrat and Gonzalez led respectively in scoring with 17 and 16. Kaiser added 12 and grabbed a team-high nine rebounds. Prince Giadolor (Rockwall, Texas) contributed 11 points off the bench in his collegiate debut. Hendrix's Smith led the opposition with 16 points.
UP NEXT
Dallas finishes the month with four more games away from the home confines. Dallas will be at Covenant Classic on November 18-19. The Crusaders will play the host school on Friday at 6:30 p.m. (CST).