LAS VEGAS - The nationally 12th-ranked Drury Panthers are headed west for a pair of major tests, as they will take on Cal State-San Bernardino and No. 5 Tarleton State in the annual South Point Holiday Hoops Classic at the South Point Hotel and Casino Thursday and Friday.

Coach Steve Hesser's Panthers (6-1) have been idle since a 79-63 victory at Missouri Science & Technology to open Great Lakes Valley Conference play on December 6. They'll be taking on two returning NCAA-II tourney teams in what has become their bi-annual trip to Vegas for the South Point event, with tipoff times for the DU games both days this year at 7:45 p.m. CST (5:45 p.m. Vegas time).

Thursday's opponent, Cal State-San Bernardino, is 2-3 on the season after dropping games to Sonoma State (75-58) and San Francisco State (68-53) on Dec. 5-6. The Coyotes are picked for second in the California Collegiate Athletic Association preseason poll after winning the league last season, when CSUSB finished 24-5 and reached the NCAA-II West Regional semifinals.

Isaiah Morton, a 5-9 senior transfer from Division I Marist, averages 15.4 points to lead three Coyotes scoring in double-figures. Gilbert Parga, a 6-4 senior, adds 12.4 points and Everett Turner, a 6-3 sophomore transfer from Cal State-Dominguez Hills, adds 10.6 points per game for a CSUSB team that's been outrebounded by an average of 35-26 over its first five games. The Coyotes are shooting 46 percent while allowing opponents to shoot 49 percent from the field, and have themselves made just 26 percent from 3-point range. 

Jeff Oliver is in his 13th season as head coach of the Coyotes, having taking nine of his previous 12 CSUSB squads to the NCAA tournament.

Tarleton State, located in Stephenville, Texas, is 8-0 on the season entering a Thursday matchup with Western Washington (6-3) at the South Point Arena. The Texans are averaging 80.1 points while giving up just 58.1 points per game and are forcing an average of 21 turnovers while committing just 13 per contest. 

Tarleton's balanced attack features five players averaging in double-figures, led by 6-3 senior guard Mo Lee's 11.6 points per game. Davene Carter, a 6-6 senior and preseason Lone Star Conference Player of the Year candidate, adds 11.3 points and a team-high 5.5 rebounds while Michael Hardge, a 5-11 junior, averages 11.1 points for coach Lonn Reisman, who's in 27th season as head coach of the Texans, who won a school-record 28 games last year and lost in the NCAA-II regional finals in a 28-3 campaign. 

Reisman is 566-229 in his 27 seasons at Tarleton and 587-239 overall as a head coach, which includes back-to-back Elite Eight trips with the Texans from 2004-06. Tarleston State, with 10 returning lettermen from last season's squad, is the preseason favorite in the Lone Star Conference. The Texans also added D-I transfers in 6-0 junior guard Teven Jones (Virginia) and 6-6 junior forward Ej Reed (LIU-Brooklyn).

Kameron Bundy is averaging 19.0 points while Cameron Adams adds 18.7 points and a team-high 5.9 rebounds for the Panthers. Mike Nwelue adds 12.7 points and 5.0 rebounds per game for Drury, which moved up one spot to 12th in the NABC/Division II Top 25 national rankings released on Tuesday.

This will represent Drury's first-ever game against CSUSB, while the Panthers are 3-0 all-time against Tarleton, but have not met the Texans since posting a 78-73 overtime win in the NCAA-II regional semifinals in Stephenville in 2003-04. Drury is 4-4 all-time under Hesser in Las Vegas, but dropped both games there in their last trip (2012-13), to Western Washington and St. Mary's, before going on to win their first NCAA-II national championship.

Drury games both days can be heard on JOCK 98.7 FM, and will be streamed live at www.jock987.com.

GAME #8-9: PANTHERS AT SOUTH POINT HOLIDAY HOOPS CLASSIC
Where: South Point Hotel & Casino, Las Vegas, Nev.
Game Times: Drury vs. Cal State-San Bernardino on Thursday, 7:45 p.m. (CST); Drury vs. Tarleton State on Friday, 7:45 p.m. (CST)
Records: Drury 6-1, CSUSB 2-3, Tarleton State 8-0 (prior to Thursday game vs. Western Washington)
Rankings: Drury, 12th and Tarleton State, 6th in NABC/Division II Top 25 Poll (12/16/14)
Radio: JOCK 98.7 FM (www.jock987.com)
Web Streaming: None