Aggie men receive national poll consideration
KANSAS CITY, Mo. (Nov. 30) - A 5-0 start that includes impressive regional victories over Drury University and Abilene Christian has garnered national attention for the Cameron University men's basketball team. Coach Garrette Mantle's Aggies received two votes in the first regular season Division II men's basketball poll, released this week by the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC).
Both of Cameron's key victories were further highlighted by the fact that each came on the opponent's home court. The Aggies beat ACU 88-75 on Nov. 19, at the Abilene Christian Tipoff Classic, then posted a 71-58 win over Drury in the Drury/Pizza Hut Thanksgiving Classic last Saturday. Cameron will look to continue is solid road play this week, visiting Eastern New Mexico and West Texas A&M in LSC crossover contests on Thursday and Saturday, respectively.
Supported by a large group of contributing newcomers, Aggie veteran Marcus Girtmon leads the team into competition this week. The 6-5 senior forward has averaged 16.0 points per game this season and ranks among the conference leaders with a .646 shooting percentage. Junior transfer Arthur Trousdell, a 6-8 center from Havelock, New Zealand, adds 14.0 points per game and ranks among the league's best in free throw shooting percentage and blocks per game. Junior guard Eric Moore is the only other Aggie scoring in double-figures at 12.0 points per contest, while starting point guard Bam Harmon leads the team with 7.4 rebounds a game.
Cameron was one of three Lone Star Conference North Division schools to receive voting consideration in the poll. Southwestern Oklahoma State, which has equalled Cameron's 5-0 start, is ranked 14th in the nation with a total of 86 points. Last year's LSC tournament champion Tarleton State (2-1) joined the Aggies among the non-ranked teams receiving votes, collecting five points in the poll.
Virginia Union, which has opened the season with fourimpressive victories, has been selected as the top-ranked team in NCAADivision II in the first regular season ranking.The Panthers, who were 25-5 last season and won the CentralIntercollegiate Athletic Association title, received five first placevotes and 195 points overall. Rollins, who has also opened with fourstraight wins, is ranked second in the initial regular season poll andgot two first place tallies. The top five is rounded out by Washburn,Southern Indiana and Montevallo, who beat defending NCAA Division IIchampion Kennesaw State Saturday. KSU is ranked sixth in the firstpoll.
To learn more about the NABC and the Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll, log on to http://nabc.collegesports.com.
NABC/Division II Coaches PollPoll #1 - November 30, 2004(School, record, total points)1. Virginia Union 4-0 195 (5 first placevotes)2. Rollins (Fla.) 4-0 189 (2 first placevotes)3. Washburn (Kan.) 5-0 1804. Southern Indiana 3-1 142 (1 firstplace vote)5. Montevallo (Ala.) 6-0 1406. Kennesaw State (Ga.) 4-1 1357. Pfeiffer (N.C.) 4-1 1328. Metropolitan State (Colo.) 4-0 1209. Saint Anselm (N.H.) 4-0 11310. Philadelphia (Pa.) 3-1 11211. Western Washington 5-0 10612. Minnesota State, Mankato 5-0 9713. Findlay (Ohio) 2-0 8714. Southwestern Oklahoma State 5-0 8615. Bowie State (Md.) 4-0 8216. Barry (Fla.) 4-1 6617. Salem International (W. Va.) 4-1 6218. Brigham Young-Hawaii 3-1 5919. Michigan Tech 3-1 5420. Valdosta State (Ga.) 5-0 5021. Emporia State (Kan.) 6-0 4822. Alaska-Fairbanks 2-3 4023. Northwest Missouri State 5-1 3824. Central Arkansas 5-0 3025. Nebraska-Omaha 5-1 29
Others receiving votes: Bellarmine (Ky.) 27, Northern State (S.D.) 27,Florida Southern 26, Ferris State (Mich.) 19, Cal State-San Bernardino12, Hawaii-Hilo 12, Bentley (Mass.) 9, North Alabama 9, NorthernKentucky 8, Northern Michigan 12, Cal Poly-Pomona 6, Tarleton State(Texas) 5, Tusculum (Tenn.) 3, West Georgia 3, Bloomfield (N.J.) 2,Cameron (Okla.) 2, Chico State (Calif.) 1, Lynn (Fla.) 1.
All records are through games of Sunday, Nov. 28.The next poll will be released Monday, Dec. 6.
