Last Week
The Javelinas opened the season with a pair of losses. First, the team traveled to NCAA Division I foe Bradley University in Peoria, IL and lost 66-55 on Friday. Then, they returned home and dropped a tough 56-53 decision to St. Edward’s on Tuesday.
Difficulties from Deep
The Javelinas struggled from three-point range during their first two games of the year. At Bradley, they knocked down 5-of-21 attempts and then returned home to make 3-of-21 opportunities. The 8-for-42 effort for the week adds up to a 19.0 percentage.
Fortunately for the Javelinas, their three-point percentage defense was superb. Bradley went 3-for-17 from three-point range while the Hilltoppers were 3-for-15. For the week, they held opponents to 18.8 percent shooting from the three-point arc.
Back in the Saddle
Junior forward Wayne Lovings is a familiar face to most Javelina fans. He was the 2003-04 Lone Star Conference South Division Freshman of the Year, but transferred to West Texas A&M the following season. After a long lay-off, he is back with the Javelinas and played his first game for the team in over six and a half years against Bradley.
Lovings showed some of the old ability and some rust during the week. At Bradley, he was oustanding leading the team with 15 points and eight rebounds while hitting on 7-of-11 shots from the field. He followed that with a tough 1-point, 2-rebound outing against St. Edward’s.
Built Ford Tough
Junior Marcus Ford had his best game in a Javelina uniform against St. Edward’s. He grabbed a career high 14 rebounds, scored nine points and blocked three shots. He is averaging 8.5 points, 9.0 rebounds and 2.0 blocks per game for the season.
Last year, Ford came off the bench in the majority of the team’s games and averaged 5.4 points and 4.6 rebounds. He led the team with 24 blocks on the season.
Stop in the Name of the Law
The Javelinas have generally had a good defensive team under head coach Pete Peterson and it appears that the 2010-11 season will be no different. They are allowing 61.0 points per game and limiting opponents to 41.3 percent shooting from the floor.
Last year, the Javelinas had 244 steals in 27 games which was one of the top marks in the Lone Star Conference. They have picked up this year where they left off with the additions of Ricky Simon and Adam Morris at the guard spots. The team had six steals against Bradley and then picked up 14 against St. Edward’s. Simon led the team with five steals while Mark Stevenson has four and Morris and Lovings have three.
Hitting Double Figures
Senior Antwan Mullins opened the season as the only Javelina to score in double figures in both games. He had 10 points on 4-of-6 shooting from the field and dished out four assists when he came off the bench at Bradley. On Tuesday, he led the team with 14 points.
Mullins averaged 11.7 points and 3.5 assists per game last year and has matched those numbers this year through the first two games averaging 12.0 points and 3.5 assists per game while shooting 56.3 percent from the field.
Milestone Victory
Javelina head coach Pete Peterson has been sitting on 199 career victories for over eight months. He is seeking to become the first coach in school history to win 200 games in any sport. He has averaged 15.3 wins per season in 13 years with the Hoggies.
More Morris
Senior guard Adam Morris showed a nice midrange game in their loss to St. Edward’s. He went 6-for-11 from the field with four of his misses coming from three-point range. He scored 12 points in only 18 minutes of action due to some foul problems.
Morris is back on the active roster this year after sitting out the 2009-10 season with academic issues. He was a member of the 2008-09 squad that went to the NCAA Division II Tournament. He averaged 3.1 points and 1.4 rebounds per game on that team.
Morris is a strong defender who will be counted on to provide the team with some scoring off the wing.
Scouting It Out
The Javelinas are 52-24 all-time against Texas Lutheran and a perfect 11-0 against Huston-Tillotson. The 52 victories over the Bulldogs is the most for the Javelinas against any program. If the Javelinas would defeat Huston-Tillotson it would be the most times they have defeated a team without losing.
Texas Lutheran has yet to play a game this year, but have played the Javelinas well each of the past two years losing by 11 and 12 points, respectively.
The Hoggies defeated Huston-Tillotson 79-56 last year. It was the largest margin of victory for the team on the season.
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