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ABILENE, Texas -- Hardin-Simmons' men's basketball team will play at Texas Lutheran in the NCAA Division III Tournament on Thursday evening at 7 p.m. at Memorial Gym in Seguin.
Hardin-Simmons (18-10)
Hardin-Simmons is making its first trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament after winning its first American Southwest Conference title last weekend with a 91-79 win over Louisiana College. The Cowboys are 18-10 on the year. HSU is the sixth different team to win the ASC title since 2010. The ASC has had a representative in at least the Round of 16 the last three seasons and in 2013 Mary Hardin-Baylor lost in the national championship game and East Texas Baptist went to the Round of 8 last season.
On The Air
Hardin-Simmons will have an audio cast for the game on Thursday at www.hsuathletics.com. Texas Lutheran will be providing a video webcast on TLUbulldogs.com.
Up Next
Obviously, the NCAA Tournament is win or go home. HSU would play at Benedictine University if it beats Texas Lutheran on Thursday. That game would be played at 7 p.m. in Lisle, Ill., which is a suburb of Chicago. Benedictine is ranked No. 2 in the D3hoops.com poll and is 27-0.
About Texas Lutheran
Hardin-Simmons will play a familiar foe in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Texas Lutheran. The two teams were conference rivals up until three years ago when TLU left for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. HSU owns a 21-10 all-time record against the Bulldogs, but TLU has won the last three meetings. TLU won an early season meeting, 99-89 in overtime on Nov. 25. in Seguin. TLU won the SCAC Tournament with an 80-77 win over Colorado College on Sunday.
Last Time
Hardin-Simmons overcame a 10-point second half deficit to force overtime but fell 99-89 in overtime. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game, before the Cowboys started to chip away. The Cowboys took their first lead of the game at the 6:50 mark of the first half on a Dashun Dixon layup that made it 23-22. The teams were tied at 37, before the Bulldogs scored the final five points of the half to take a 42-37 lead at halftime. TLU pushed the lead out 70-60 with 9:35 to play in the game before the Cowboys rallied. Duane Hopper made a pair of free throws, Justin Jones hit a pair of layups and Caleb Spoon hit a 3-pointer and Hopper hit two more free throws to tie the game at 71 with 6:10 to play. The teams traded baskets the rest of regulation and Zach Behr's free throw with :43 to play tied the game at 81. HSU ran down the clock and Spoon had a good look at a shot to give the Cowboys the lead but it came out and TLU's desperation shot at the buzzer was off the mark. TLU was 8-for-8 at the foul line in the overtime period and also hit two big 3-pointers to outscored the Cowboys 18-8 in the extra session. Jones led five Cowboys in double figures with 20 points. Hopper had 15 points, Dixon had 12, Ryan Leiss scored 10 and Spoon had 11 off the bench. Nathaniel Jack had nine points and 15 rebounds for the Cowboys. HSU was 28-of-31 from the free throw line in the game, but a 5-for-31 night behind the 3-point arc sealed the Cowboys' fate. TLU also won the battle of the boards 57-44. Sterling Holmes led TLU with 28 points and Jordan Kouresmetis added 21.
Head Coach Craig Carse
HSU is coached by Craig Carse, who is 127-88 in his eight seasons at HSU. He has a career record of 417-278 in 25 seasons as a collegiate head coach and has won conference championships as a head or assistant coach at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels as well as in the NAIA. He has the third most wins in Hardin-Simmons history. He rejoined the team on the bench for the first time since December last week at the ASC Tournament in Alpine. Assistant coach Rian Stubbs has handled the game-day coaching most of the season.
HSU Basketball
The Cowboys have an all-time record of 1196-1166-2 in 105 seasons of basketball. HSU is looking for its first conference title since winning the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in 1993.
Balanced Effort
The Cowboys have one of the most balanced teams in the tournament with a variety of ways to beat you. Six different Cowboys are averaging in double figures on the season and a seventh Caleb Spoon averages 9.6 points per game.
Hardware
The Cowboys won the ASC title with three convincing wins last weekend in Alpine to claim the first ASC title in school history in men's basketball. Nathaniel Jack was named the tournament's MVP and Justin Jones and Christian O'Neal were named to the all-tournament team.
ASC Honors
Four Cowboys were honored in the ASC postseason awards. Justin Jones was named to the all-ASC team, was named first-team all-ASC West team was the ASC West defensive player of the year and was on the all-defense team. Nathaniel Jack was also named first-team all-ASC West and was on the all-defense team. Duane Hopper and Christian O'Neal were both named honroable mention all-ASC West.
Taking It Off The Rim
Junior forward Nathaniel Jack leads the conference in rebounding at 11.3 per game, which is also a school record for rebounds per game in the non-scholarship era. He has 316 rebounds, which ranks third in a season for the Cowboys. He needs 16 rebounds to catch Jim Nelson for most rebounds in a season. Jack has the most offensive rebounds in school history in a season with 119. He ranks fourth in Division III in rebounding and is 13th with 15 double-doubles. Jack averages 11.6 points per game and leads the team in steals with 45, is second on the team with 91 assists and is second with 17 blocked shots.
Block Party
Justin Jones again leads all divisions of basketball with 119 blocks on the year. He has the top two seasons in school history in blocks. He owns the ASC and HSU record for blocks in a game (11 against Concordia) and season. HSU leads the nation at 6.4 blocks per game. Jones also averages 12.5 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per contest and shoots 53 percent from the field.
Give Me All Three of These
The Cowboys can really shoot the 3-pointer and they have destroyed the school record of 235 makes set by the 2010 season. HSU has 293 makes so far this season. Caleb Spoon leads the way with 78 makes and Dashun Dixon has 55. Duane Hopper and Cameron Barnes have 47 and 38 makes respectively. HSU has made double-digit 3-pointers in eight of the last nine games and have hit double figures in makes 17 times. The Cowboys hit 20 against Ozarks and 18 against both McMurry and Trinity. HSU ranks 13th nationally in 3-pointers made. Spoon needs five more makes to tie Kevin Richardson's single-season record of 83. He currently ranks fifth in a season.
Dishing The Rock
HSU has 485 assists on the year which is the best mark in school history. Christian O'Neal leads the way with 117 assists on the year, which ranks ninth in a single season and he can move up to fifth with just five more assists. Six different Cowboys have at least 40 assists on the year. HSU ranks sixth in the nation in attempts. O'Neal also leads the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game.
Dunk Fest
The Cowboys have rocked the rim for 35 dunks on the season. Justin Jones leads the way with 19, Cameron Barnes has six, Nathaniel Jack and Duane Hopper four each and Christian O'Neal and Joe Hoeup have one each.
Moving On Up
Justin Jones (525) and Nathaniel Jack (509) rank seventh and ninth respectively in HSU career rebounds...Christian O'Neal has 212 assists in his career and needs four more to get in the school's career top 10. ...Justin Jones has moved to within 47 blocked shots of Mardochee Jean's school record of 300.
Senior Sendoff
HSU has an experienced team with seven juniors but have just one senior. Cameron Barnes has put together a solid season for the Cowboys and he capped his home career in style with a 43-point performance in a 114-72 win over McMurry. He had 28 points in the second half and hit a career-best seven 3-pointers. For the year, he is averaging 11.2 points per game. He is shooting 34.6 percent from behind the arc and has made 36 3-pointers. He has started 19 of 25 games but is also good at sparking the team from off the bench when he doesn't start.
Glue Guy
Junior Duane Hopper is the glue guy for the Cowboy team. He does a little bit of everything and can play multiple positions. He has even played some at the center position. He averages 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and has 44 assists on the year. He also has heated up from behind the arc. He is shooting 40 percent from behind the arc in the last half of the season after a slow start.
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Hardin-Simmons (18-10)
Hardin-Simmons is making its first trip to the NCAA Division III Tournament after winning its first American Southwest Conference title last weekend with a 91-79 win over Louisiana College. The Cowboys are 18-10 on the year. HSU is the sixth different team to win the ASC title since 2010. The ASC has had a representative in at least the Round of 16 the last three seasons and in 2013 Mary Hardin-Baylor lost in the national championship game and East Texas Baptist went to the Round of 8 last season.
On The Air
Hardin-Simmons will have an audio cast for the game on Thursday at www.hsuathletics.com. Texas Lutheran will be providing a video webcast on TLUbulldogs.com.
Up Next
Obviously, the NCAA Tournament is win or go home. HSU would play at Benedictine University if it beats Texas Lutheran on Thursday. That game would be played at 7 p.m. in Lisle, Ill., which is a suburb of Chicago. Benedictine is ranked No. 2 in the D3hoops.com poll and is 27-0.
About Texas Lutheran
Hardin-Simmons will play a familiar foe in the first round of the NCAA Tournament in Texas Lutheran. The two teams were conference rivals up until three years ago when TLU left for the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. HSU owns a 21-10 all-time record against the Bulldogs, but TLU has won the last three meetings. TLU won an early season meeting, 99-89 in overtime on Nov. 25. in Seguin. TLU won the SCAC Tournament with an 80-77 win over Colorado College on Sunday.
Last Time
Hardin-Simmons overcame a 10-point second half deficit to force overtime but fell 99-89 in overtime. The Bulldogs jumped out to a 10-0 lead to start the game, before the Cowboys started to chip away. The Cowboys took their first lead of the game at the 6:50 mark of the first half on a Dashun Dixon layup that made it 23-22. The teams were tied at 37, before the Bulldogs scored the final five points of the half to take a 42-37 lead at halftime. TLU pushed the lead out 70-60 with 9:35 to play in the game before the Cowboys rallied. Duane Hopper made a pair of free throws, Justin Jones hit a pair of layups and Caleb Spoon hit a 3-pointer and Hopper hit two more free throws to tie the game at 71 with 6:10 to play. The teams traded baskets the rest of regulation and Zach Behr's free throw with :43 to play tied the game at 81. HSU ran down the clock and Spoon had a good look at a shot to give the Cowboys the lead but it came out and TLU's desperation shot at the buzzer was off the mark. TLU was 8-for-8 at the foul line in the overtime period and also hit two big 3-pointers to outscored the Cowboys 18-8 in the extra session. Jones led five Cowboys in double figures with 20 points. Hopper had 15 points, Dixon had 12, Ryan Leiss scored 10 and Spoon had 11 off the bench. Nathaniel Jack had nine points and 15 rebounds for the Cowboys. HSU was 28-of-31 from the free throw line in the game, but a 5-for-31 night behind the 3-point arc sealed the Cowboys' fate. TLU also won the battle of the boards 57-44. Sterling Holmes led TLU with 28 points and Jordan Kouresmetis added 21.
Head Coach Craig Carse
HSU is coached by Craig Carse, who is 127-88 in his eight seasons at HSU. He has a career record of 417-278 in 25 seasons as a collegiate head coach and has won conference championships as a head or assistant coach at the NCAA Division I, II and III levels as well as in the NAIA. He has the third most wins in Hardin-Simmons history. He rejoined the team on the bench for the first time since December last week at the ASC Tournament in Alpine. Assistant coach Rian Stubbs has handled the game-day coaching most of the season.
HSU Basketball
The Cowboys have an all-time record of 1196-1166-2 in 105 seasons of basketball. HSU is looking for its first conference title since winning the Texas Intercollegiate Athletic Conference title in 1993.
Balanced Effort
The Cowboys have one of the most balanced teams in the tournament with a variety of ways to beat you. Six different Cowboys are averaging in double figures on the season and a seventh Caleb Spoon averages 9.6 points per game.
Hardware
The Cowboys won the ASC title with three convincing wins last weekend in Alpine to claim the first ASC title in school history in men's basketball. Nathaniel Jack was named the tournament's MVP and Justin Jones and Christian O'Neal were named to the all-tournament team.
ASC Honors
Four Cowboys were honored in the ASC postseason awards. Justin Jones was named to the all-ASC team, was named first-team all-ASC West team was the ASC West defensive player of the year and was on the all-defense team. Nathaniel Jack was also named first-team all-ASC West and was on the all-defense team. Duane Hopper and Christian O'Neal were both named honroable mention all-ASC West.
Taking It Off The Rim
Junior forward Nathaniel Jack leads the conference in rebounding at 11.3 per game, which is also a school record for rebounds per game in the non-scholarship era. He has 316 rebounds, which ranks third in a season for the Cowboys. He needs 16 rebounds to catch Jim Nelson for most rebounds in a season. Jack has the most offensive rebounds in school history in a season with 119. He ranks fourth in Division III in rebounding and is 13th with 15 double-doubles. Jack averages 11.6 points per game and leads the team in steals with 45, is second on the team with 91 assists and is second with 17 blocked shots.
Block Party
Justin Jones again leads all divisions of basketball with 119 blocks on the year. He has the top two seasons in school history in blocks. He owns the ASC and HSU record for blocks in a game (11 against Concordia) and season. HSU leads the nation at 6.4 blocks per game. Jones also averages 12.5 points per game and 8.6 rebounds per contest and shoots 53 percent from the field.
Give Me All Three of These
The Cowboys can really shoot the 3-pointer and they have destroyed the school record of 235 makes set by the 2010 season. HSU has 293 makes so far this season. Caleb Spoon leads the way with 78 makes and Dashun Dixon has 55. Duane Hopper and Cameron Barnes have 47 and 38 makes respectively. HSU has made double-digit 3-pointers in eight of the last nine games and have hit double figures in makes 17 times. The Cowboys hit 20 against Ozarks and 18 against both McMurry and Trinity. HSU ranks 13th nationally in 3-pointers made. Spoon needs five more makes to tie Kevin Richardson's single-season record of 83. He currently ranks fifth in a season.
Dishing The Rock
HSU has 485 assists on the year which is the best mark in school history. Christian O'Neal leads the way with 117 assists on the year, which ranks ninth in a single season and he can move up to fifth with just five more assists. Six different Cowboys have at least 40 assists on the year. HSU ranks sixth in the nation in attempts. O'Neal also leads the team in scoring at 13.3 points per game.
Dunk Fest
The Cowboys have rocked the rim for 35 dunks on the season. Justin Jones leads the way with 19, Cameron Barnes has six, Nathaniel Jack and Duane Hopper four each and Christian O'Neal and Joe Hoeup have one each.
Moving On Up
Justin Jones (525) and Nathaniel Jack (509) rank seventh and ninth respectively in HSU career rebounds...Christian O'Neal has 212 assists in his career and needs four more to get in the school's career top 10. ...Justin Jones has moved to within 47 blocked shots of Mardochee Jean's school record of 300.
Senior Sendoff
HSU has an experienced team with seven juniors but have just one senior. Cameron Barnes has put together a solid season for the Cowboys and he capped his home career in style with a 43-point performance in a 114-72 win over McMurry. He had 28 points in the second half and hit a career-best seven 3-pointers. For the year, he is averaging 11.2 points per game. He is shooting 34.6 percent from behind the arc and has made 36 3-pointers. He has started 19 of 25 games but is also good at sparking the team from off the bench when he doesn't start.
Glue Guy
Junior Duane Hopper is the glue guy for the Cowboy team. He does a little bit of everything and can play multiple positions. He has even played some at the center position. He averages 10.4 points and 5.1 rebounds per game and has 44 assists on the year. He also has heated up from behind the arc. He is shooting 40 percent from behind the arc in the last half of the season after a slow start.
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