TODAY’S GAME: WRIGHT STATE TOURNAMENT
Gardner-Webb (2-3) at Wright State (1-3), 7 p.m., ESPN3, 106.5-FM
SERIES: First meeting COACHES: Scott Nagy is 21-15 in his second season at Wright State and 431-255 in 23 years overall. Tim Craft is 76-63 in his fifth season with Gardner-Webb.
TOURNAMENT SCHEDULE: Jacksonville (0-3) vs. Fairfield (2-1) 4:30 p.m. today; Fairfield vs. Gardner-Webb 2:30, Jacksonville vs. Wright State 5 p.m. Saturday; Gardner-Webb vs. Jacksonville 1 p.m., Fairfield vs. Wright State 3:30 p.m. Sunday. TICKETS: Prices range from $7 to $25 for each doubleheader. There are no all-session passes. Tickets can be purchased at the Nutter Center or by calling (937) 775-4934.
ABOUT WRIGHT STATE: The Raiders beat Division III Tiffin by 24 on Monday to break a three-game losing streak, their longest to start a season since going 0-6 in 2008-09. Although they outrebounded the Dragons by 10, their shooting woes continued. They’re hitting 42.9 percent from the field and 29.0 percent on 3-pointers this season . ... Freshmen Everett Winchester (teambest 13.0 average), Jaylon Hall (12 points against Tiffin) and Louden Love (team-high 7.0 rebounds per game) all have been major contributors . ... The Raiders won all three games in the inaugural Wright State tournament last year, beating CSU Bakersfield, North Dakota and North Florida. The bonus of hosting an event like this is to get nonconference home games, a difficult task for mid-major programs.
ABOUT GARDNER-WEBB: The Bulldogs returned three starters from a team that finished 19-14 last season. They’ve lost to Miami (77-45), Florida (116-74) and Central Florida (68-65) on the road and beat Warren Wilson (119-81) and Brevard (93-70) at home . ... The Boiling Springs, N.C., school was picked to finish fifth in the Big South. UNC Asheville is the favorite . ... Laster was named league player of the week after getting 19 points and 10 rebounds against Florida, 21 and nine against UCF and 20 and 12 against Warren Wilson. ... Efianayi was named all-league last season and had 28 points against Brevard . ... Gardner-Webb is a relative newcomer to Division I but played in the postseason CBI in 2015 and CIT in ’13.
ABOUT JACKSONVILLE: The Dolphins (1-3) lost seven seniors after going 17-16 last season. They were picked seventh in the Atlantic Sun preseason poll. They’ve lost to UAB (96-67) and Georgetown (73-57) on the road and split two home games, losing to North Carolina A&T (90-82 OT) and beating Webber International (88-70) . ... They’re led by fourth-year coach Tony Jasick, who has gone 44-57 . ... They returned three part-time starters in Antwon Clayton, Devin Harris and Cody Helgeland. Harris averaged 10.9 points, 5.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists last season. Helgeland and Tanner Rubio, an Atlantic Sun all-freshman team pick last year, combined for 114 3-pointers. Their current leading scorer is Jace Hogan, a 6-6 Navy transfer who is averaging 19.0. ABOUT FAIRFIELD: The Stags (2-1) were picked fourth in the MAAC preseason poll behind favorite Iona, Manhattan and Monmouth. They’ve beaten Penn (80-72) and Loyola (Md.) at home and lost at Purdue (106-64) . ... Tyler Nelson, a 6-3 senior, is the preseason conference player of the year. He averaged 19.5 points and 3.6 assists last season and 19.3 and 3.3 this year . .... The Stags lost two double-figure scorers off a team that went 16-15 last season. They’re coached by Sydney Johnson, who’s in his seventh year after spending four years at Princeton . ... Ferron Flavors, a 6-4 sophomore, and Matija Milin, a 6-9 junior, are averaging 10.7 points.