Colonels set for rematch with Knights

Wendy Haun

RICHMOND — Just a year ago, the Colonels went to Hackensack, N.J. and took an impressive 83-47 win away from Fairleigh Dickinson on their home court.

Now the Knights have the chance to return the favor at 6 p.m. in McBrayer Arena.

But if the Eastern Kentucky University men’s basketball team anticipates a similar FDU team, they will be sadly mistaken.

The Knights (1-2) have a new coaching staff, headed by Gregory Vetrone, and a standout forward Alvin Mofunanya, who scored 22 points and had six blocks and nine boards in a 62-53 win over Central Michigan Saturday night.

“They have a new coach this year, and he’s really coming into his own,” EKU coach Jeff Neubauer said. “They beat a very good program in Central Michigan. We have talked to our team about team maturity. We played well last year at Fairleigh Dickinson but we have a different team and so do they. They are playing very good basketball right now. We have to be aware that they are a different unit than they were a year ago.”

Although the Knights have two losses on their record, they are to extremely talented teams — No. 5-ranked Villanova and Wichita State, which is a power in the Missouri Valley Conference.

Guard Sean Baptiste leads the team in scoring, with 15 points per game, and guard Terence Grier averages 13.7 points per game.

The Colonels will face California-Irvine on Tuesday at 6 p.m. and Texas-San Antonio Wednesday at 6 p.m., both in McBrayer, as part of the CBE Classic.

The Anteaters (2-1) have beaten Loyola Marymount and La Verne, but suffered through an 89-42 loss at Texas. They are led by guard Michael Hunter (12.3 ppg), forward Eric Wise (10.7 ppg) and guard Darren Moore (10.3 ppg). Hunter is a threat on the perimeter, as he is fifth on the UCI career three-pointers list with 161.

The Roadrunners (2-0) have beaten East Central and went into Iowa City and topped Iowa, 62-50. UTSA has five players in double-figures in scoring: Devin Gibson (18 points), Melvin Johnson III (15.5 ppg), Morris Smith IV (13.5 ppg), Terry Fields (12.5 ppg) and Omar Johnson (10.5 ppg).

The Roadrunners are coached by Brooks Thompson, who was selected to the Orlando Magic in the first round of the 1994 NBA Draft. He played for the Magic, Utah Jazz, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks in his pro career, which ended in 1998. He has coached at Oklahoma State and Arizona State before his current position.

With three consecutive days of games, the Colonels will have “walkthroughs” every day, prepared by the assistant coaches who have been scouting the teams.

“The assistant coaches are preparing for the other opponents, but the team and I are strictly focused on FDU right now and getting ready for (tonight),” Neubauer said. “At this time of year, you’re just trying to prepare your team for so many things. Every game in November will make us better as we go into conference play.”

The Colonels head into the four-game homestand off a 71-60 loss Thursday at Pittsburgh. That game was part the CBE Classic.

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