Men's Basketball 12/16/2015 5:46:00 AM Scott Puryear, Associate AD For Marketing & Communications

Panthers Head To Vegas To Take On #6 Angelo State, #7 Tarleton State In Holiday Hoops Classic

Men's Basketball 12/16/2015 5:46:00 AM Scott Puryear, Associate AD For Marketing & Communications

Panthers Head To Vegas To Take On #6 Angelo State, #7 Tarleton State In Holiday Hoops Classic

Kameron Bundy

A look at the Panthers' appearance in the South Point Holiday Hoops Classic Friday & Saturday In Las Vegas, at a glance ...

*THE MATCHUPS: Drury (5-3) will play No. 6 Angelo State (10-0) at 1 p.m. Friday (CST) and No. 7 Tarleton State (8-1) at 3 p.m. Saturday (CST) at the South Point Casino Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada as part of the annual South Point Holiday Hoops Classic.

*RADIO/TV/INTERNET: The games can be heard on JOCK 98.7 FM, and online at www.radiospringfield.com. Video webcasts and live stats can be accessed on game day by visiting www.sporttours.net, the host organization for the event.

*ABOUT THE PANTHERS: Drury heads to Las Vegas for the third time in the last four years and fifth time in the Coach Steve Hesser Era to play two Top 10 programs in Angelo State and Tarleton State. It's a Panther teams that will be eager to bounce back from a 74-56 loss at Missouri S&T in Great Lakes Valley Conference play on Saturday, the first setback to a much-improved Miners team since 1996 (a span of 21 consecutive DU wins). The Panthers will once again look for production outside of senior preseason All-America guard Kameron Bundy, who's averaging 19.6 points, 4.3 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game (career highs in all three categories). Sophomore guard Tevin Foster is the only other Panther scoring in double-digits at 15.0 points per game, but has averaged just 8.0 points over his last four contests. Junior forward/center Jamal Cummings is coming off an 11-point effort in the loss at S&T on 5-of-5 shooting to give the DU inside game a spark.

*SCOUTING ANGELO STATE: The Rams - like Tarleton, a member of the Lone Star Conference - have tied their best start in school history (10-0) after defeating McMurry 115-68 on Monday night at home in San Angelo, Texas. First-year coach Cinco Boone - who moved up from associate head coach this season after former boss Chris Beard became head coach at D-I Arkansas-Little Rock, features a Rams team that went 28-6 last season and reached the NCAA-II Sweet 16, falling to Tarleton State 66-64 in the regional finals. Angelo State is averaging 94.5 points per game and allowing just 73.0, and is out-rebounding its foes by an average of 44.8 to 36.3. Tre Bennett, a 5-10 senior and transfer from D-I Indiana State, leads three Rams averaging in double-figures at 17.3 points, while Shelton Boykin (6-6 junior guard) adds 16.8 points and 6.5 rebounds and Stedman Allen (6-5 senior and D-I Wagner transfer) contributes 16.1 points per game. Omari Gudul, a 6-10, 230-pound junior post player, adds 9.2 points and a team-leading 8.6 rebounds per contest. Angelo State defeated Missouri S&T 94-87 in the St. Mary's Classic in San Antonio on November 28.

*SCOUTING TARLETON STATE: The Texans, who will play No. 16 Rollins College (9-1) on Friday before facing the Panthers, are a returning NCAA-II Final Four team (31-4 last year) that's been ranked as high as No. 1 in the NABC Top 25 poll this season before suffering their lone loss, an 87-84 overtime setback to Colorado State-Pueblo, on November 27 in their own Thanksgiving Classic in Stephenville, Texas. The Texans have won four in a row since, including a 74-58 home win over Texas-Permian Basin on Monday. E.J. Reed, a 6-6 senior, averages 21.7 points and 8.7 rebounds to lead the Texans, who have four players averaging in double-digits. Malcolm Hamilton, a 6-4 senior who played juco ball at Moberly CC, adds 13.9 points and 7.9 rebounds, 6-2 senior TCU transfer Charles Hill contributes 13.4 points per game and Michael Hardge, a 5-11 senior, adds 10.0 ppg for a team averaging 86.7 points and allowing just 66.4 per game. The Texans also are outrebounding opponents, on average, by a 42-30 margin. Tarleton is coached by Lonn Reisman, who's in his 28th season at the helm (and 25th as the school's athletic director).

*THE SERIES: Drury is playing Angelo State for the first time and leads Tarleton State 3-1 in the all-time series, including a 64-60 loss to the Texans last year in Las Vegas.

*BUNDY CLIMBING THE CHARTS: With 157 points this season, Bundy now has scored 1,376 in his Drury career, good for 20th on the Panthers' all-time charts after he surpassed former DU great Tony King (1,341 from 1984-88) with his 26-point effort on Dec. 5 at Maryville. The former Nixa High School standout needs 36 points to pass Jasen Fronabarger (1,411 from 1995-99) for 19th place on the list. Bundy has scored in double-figures in all eight games this season and 13 straight games dating back to last year. Bundy has reached double-digits in 58 of his 66 games since moving into the starting lineup for the Panthers at the beginning of his sophomore season, including 28 games of scoring 20 or more points. Interestingly, he has yet to have a 30-point game (career high of 28 points against Parkside in the GLVC tourney last season); although, Bundy did score 40 in an exhibition win over Missouri Baptist to begin this season.

*HESSER SEEKING WIN NUMBER 250: Drury head coach Steve Hesser, now in his 12th season at the helm of the Panthers and the winningest coach in the program's history, is 249-91 (a .737 winning percentage) in his DU and collegiate coaching career. That includes an 85-20 record dating back to the start of the 2012-13 season, when the Panthers went on to finish 31-4 and claim their first NCAA-II national championship. His DU squads have also captured two of the past three GLVC Championships and made three consecutive NCAA-II tourney appearances in that stretch. Hesser's Panthers are 3-1 this season in games decided by five points or less, continuing his outstanding trend in that regard: In 12 seasons, Hesser's Panthers are 63-27 (.701 win percentage) in that scenario, including 26-8 (.774) since the start of the 2012-13 campaign.

*QUICKIES: Drury is 4-6 all-time in games in Las Vegas under Hesser. ... The Panthers have been outrebounded in five of eight games this season, and are 3-0 in the games in which they've won the battle of the boards. ... Through eight games, the backcourt of Bundy-Foster-Lucciano Gamiz for the Panthers has accounted for .596 percent of their scoring offense this season. ... After getting to the free-throw line an average of 31.5 times over their first four games, the Panthers have been there just 17.3 times per game on average over their past four games. ... Drury is 4-0 this season when it shoots 46 percent or better from the field, and 1-3 when it doesn't. ...

*ON DECK FOR THE PANTHERS: Drury will return home after the Las Vegas trip to observe the NCAA's mandatory "Life In Balance" break for Division Ii members until returning campus on December 28 in preparation for a January 2 (3 p.m.) non-conference game against Central Christian at The O'. The Panthers will resume Great Lakes Valley Conference play the following week with games at Lewis (Thursday, January 7) and Wisconsin-Parkside (Saturday, January 9), with the latter to be televised nationally on the American Sports Network (ASN).

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Players Mentioned

#3 Kameron Bundy: G; 6' 2"; Senior; Guard

#20 Lucciano Gamiz: G; 6' 3"; Senior

#45 Jamal Cummings: F; 6' 7"; Junior; Forward

#10 Tevin Foster: G; 6' 0"; Sophomore; Guard

Players Mentioned

#3 Kameron Bundy
: 6' 2"; Senior; Guard
: G

#20 Lucciano Gamiz
: 6' 3"; Senior
: G

#45 Jamal Cummings
: 6' 7"; Junior; Forward
: F

#10 Tevin Foster
: 6' 0"; Sophomore; Guard
: G