Men's Basketball | 11/13/2021 10:15:00 AM

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – The Mississippi Valley State University men's basketball program played in New York City on Tuesday then made the cross-country flight to Riverside, California for its Saturday night matchup with California Baptist.

What You Need to Know 
 

• Time and Date: Saturday, November 13 (9 p.m. CT)

 

• Video: http://www.espn.com/watch/espnplus (ESPN+)

 

• Audio: http://www.cbulancers.com/listenMBB (Fox Sports 1350 AM)

 

• Live Stats: http://stats.statbroadcast.com/statmonitr/?id=365203

 

• Tickets: https://cbulancers.com/services/tickets.ashx/go?game_id=14565&stubhub=True&season_code=BB2122&item_code=MB1113&redirect=https%3a%2f%2fev3.evenue.net%2fcgi-bin%2fncommerce3%2fSEGetEventInfo%3fticketCode%3dGS%253ACBU%253ABB2122%253AMB1113%253A%26linkID%3dtwcbu%26RSRC%3dSIDEARM%26RDAT%3dsgl

 

• Records: Mississippi Valley State (0-1, 0-0 SWAC) | California Baptist (1-0, 0-0 WAC)

 

• Location: Riverside, California – CBU Events Center

 
Mississippi Valley State Overview
 
Coach Lindsey Hunter's squad started off the season with a tall order, falling to a loaded St. John's team that is receiving votes in the AP poll and is expected to make the NCAA Tournament, falling 119-61 on opening night.
 
Despite the score, the Delta Devils won the turnover battle over the Red Storm (20-18), with its 20 forced mistakes ranking top-40 among all Division I teams.
 
Elijah Davis made a strong first impression a few days ago, ranking top-30 in the NCAA for assists per game (7.0) and fifth in the SWAC for assist-to-turnover ratio (3.50).
 
Caleb Hunter returns to The Delta and will look to be the primary scorer once again, adding 16 points and a top-35 showing in three-pointers per game (4.00) versus SJU. The son of MVSU's Head Coach drained 44.4% of his attempts from deep opposite the Johnnies, fourth-best in the league presently.
 
Gary Grant came away with three steals Tuesday evening as his average falls four spots shy of sitting in the top-50 nationally while slotting in second among his conference peers with seven free throws as well.
 
Daniel Umoh logged two blocks in his Valley debut, the second-highest average in the conference at the end of the first week.

Scouting The Opponent: California Baptist Lancers
 
CBU also opened its 2021-22 campaign on Tuesday, defeating NCAA Division II member and local rival San Francisco State, 87-65.
 
The Lancers, who are in its third season of being a transitional member of the NCAA's Division I, were picked to be middle of the pack in the WAC this year, earning 84 points to slot eighth in the newly expanded 14-team conference.
 
Ty Rowell will be the ringleader for the Blue and Gold, being voted as an All-WAC First Team selection after averaging a team-best 15.4 points per game, leading the league in assists per game (5.8) and was named All-Conference plus NABC All-District a season ago.
 
His right-hand man will be Australian-born Reed Nottage who was voted to the All-WAC Second Team by members of the media. Nottage was an Honorable Mention for the All-Conference teams in 2020-21, averaging 14.3 points while topping the conference in three-point percentage (42.5%) and topping he Lancers in triples (57).

Follow the Delta Devils and Delta Devilettes on Facebook (Mississippi Valley State Athletics), Twitter (@MVSUDevilSports) and Instagram (@MVSUDevilSports).