Kearney, Neb. - A veteran Nebraska-Kearney men's basketball team starts the 2011-12 season this Sunday afternooon with a home game against the rival Fort Hays State Tigers. Two days later, the Doane College Tigers come to town.
The Hays game tips at 3:00 p.m. with the Doane contest going off at 7:00 p.m. Tuesday. Live stats are available
HERE with Dave Jenner again handling play-by-play duties on
KGFW AM 1340. For a fee, fans can also watch the games on
America One.
The Lopers posted an 11-11 mark in RMAC play last year and qualified for the conference tournament as the eighth seed.
UNK also went 11-8 in games decided by eight points or less. A better record in those close contests could put the Lopers back into the NCAA Tournament, a place it hasn't seen since 2007
Among the eight returning scorers is 2011 RMAC Freshman of the Year
Mike Dentlinger (Millard North), senior wing
Max Froehlich (Pierce) and sophomore guard
Tim Billingsley (Parker, Colo).
Froehlich has played in 82 games in a Loper uniform and currently ranks 30th on the career scoring list (1,078 points). He also has led the RMAC in assists per game each of the last two seasons.
Dentlinger (14.5 points & 6.0 rebounds per game) and Billingsley (8.3 ppg, 2.9 rpg, 1.9 apg) made big contributions as true freshman.
A 6-6 post player, Dentlinger had three double doubles while making 53.2% of his field goals and shooting 72.8% at the line. Billingsley started 25 times, ranking third on the team in threes made (33) and was one of four Lopers to make 80% of his free throws (84.4).
Other returnees include senior forwards
Beau Baker (3.9 ppg),
Chris Deans (7.9 ppg) and
Ben Klein (4.2 ppg & 3.0 rpg), junior guard
Akeem Morissaint (7.5 ppg & 2.4 rpg) and junior forward
Drew Sankey (7.2 ppg & 4.0 rpg).
Baker (Denver, Colo.) is a career 50% shooter with Deans (Hemingford) among UNK's all-time three point leaders (135). Klein, a Plainview native, returned to the Lopers in 2010-11 after a two-year break and proved to be a solid reserve post.
On the perimeter, Morissaint (Delray Beach, Fla.) made a team-high 40 threes last year and ranked second to Froehlich in steals (23).
Finally, Loper co-head coaches
Tom Kropp and
Kevin Lofton added two of Nebraska's top prep players (Kearney's
Tyler Shields and Norfolk Catholic's
Ethan Brozek) as well as a junior college wing (
Jon Henderson) with senior guard
Quinston Reggins redshirting in 2011 after playing at Division I Coppin State (Md.).
Shields is a strong shooter with Brozek likely being a big help down low. Henderson put up big numbers last year at Colorado Northwestern J.C. with Reggins joining Morissaint as the Lopers primary ball handlers this winter
Hays, under 10th year head coach Marc Johnson, is coming off an impressive 26-7 (16-6 MIAA) season. However, the Tigers must replace four starters, one who was an All-American and three who earned all-league honors.
Among the newcomers are Omaha native KC Rodenburg (6-7, 210 lbs.), a transfer from U. of South Dakota, and junior post Markus Yarbrough (6-8, 290 lbs.).
UNK is looking to stop a four-game losing streak to Hays and pick up its first win over the Tigers in Kearney since the 2004-05 season.
Doane is off to a 3-0 start heading into a pair of road games this weekend.
An experienced team features seven seniors and two redshirt juniors. However, in the early going, 6-4 sophomore guard Nick Reed leads the team in points (20.7) and rebounds (6.4).
Besides Hays and Doane, the Lopers host Wayne State on Nov. 22 with conference play starting December 2nd. Of note, the Lopers play at UNO on Feb. 15th.
