Published: November 28, 2008 08:23 am      

Colonels set to hit the road

RICHMOND — To complete the Legends Classic this weekend, the Colonels will face one unknown team and one team they haven’t played in 21 years.

Both games against Fairleigh Dickinson (today) and Akron (Saturday) will tip-off at 7 p.m. and will be at Rothman Center in Hackensack, N.J., the home court of Fairleigh Dickinson.

In today’s matchup, Eastern Kentucky University will play Fairleigh Dickinson in the first-ever matchup between the Knights and the Colonels. The Knights are 0-3 on the season after suffering double-digit losses to Pittsburgh, Washington State and Mississippi State. FDU is coached by Tom Green, who is 400-328 in his 26th season as the coach of the Knights. However, during the 2007-08 season, the Knights finished 8-20.

The Knights’ leading scorer is Eric Moore, who is averaging 9.7 points per contest. Sean Baptiste is also putting up big numbers for FDU as the leading rebounder, with eight points and 7.3 rebounds per game. The team has only averaged 51.3 points per game to its opponents’ 75.

“I have a feel for their personnel,” EKU coach Jeff Neubauer said. “They have some talented players. Eric Moore is a talented shooter. They’ve played a tough schedule and three of the best defensive teams in the nation, so their stats are really skewed.”

Sitting in the post position for the Knights will be sophomore John Galvin (6-foot-8, 250) and Alvin Mofunanya (6-foot-8, 245).

“They play with two bigger guys, which may create issues for us,” Neubauer said. “John Galvin and Alvin Mofunanya are two big bodies and certainly, we’re going to have to be very disciplined to defend those big guys.”

Despite playing 18 games with the Zips, EKU hasn’t played them since March 6, 1987 (a game which the Colonels won, 94-85). The Colonels hold the all-time advantage, 12-6. Akron is 3-1 on the season, with wins over Canisius, Winthrop and Urbana. Their sole setback came as an 86-67 loss to No. 6-ranked Pittsburgh in the first round of the Legends Classic.

The Zips have three players averaging in double-figures in scoring: Nate Linhart (12 ppg), Brett McKnight (11.5) and Chris McKnight (10.8). Linhart is also Akron’s leading rebounder, averaging 6.3 boards per game. The Zips are averaging 69 points per game to their opponents’ 56.8.

Playing two games in the span of two days may be difficult, especially for the younger players, but for a team who is currently aimed at the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament and is harboring NCAA Tournament dreams, it will be beneficial, Neubauer said.

“Playing in a short span of time is the challenge that comes up in college basketball,” he said. “It comes down to a tournament game. If we’re fortunate enough to make the championship finals of the OVC, it’ll be back-to-back nights. This is great preparation for the OVC Tournament.”

After suffering a 98-84 setback at Texas Tech in the first game of the Legends Classic, EKU bounced back Tuesday with a 91-43 win over Division III Thiel College. Leading the Colonels, as expected, is senior guard Mike Rose, who is averaging 21 points through the first four contests. Also putting up big numbers for EKU is junior transfer Papa Oppong, who is averaging 11.8 points and a team-high eight rebounds per game.

The Colonels will likely be without the services once again of sophomore Justin Stommes (10 ppg). Stommes, who started the first three games, is sidelined by an ankle injury he sustained during the Texas Tech game. Starting in his place will most likely be Joshua Jones, who logged his first start in a Colonel uniform against Thiel. The other two in the starting lineup are projected to be senior Ryan Wiersma and junior Dayvon Ellis.

The Colonels are averaging 74.5 points per game to their opponents’ 60.5. However, they are being outrebounded by their opponents by an average of 33-27.8.