Men's Basketball Gets Underway This Weekend at the SIAC-CIAA Challenge
JCSU Sports Information
Charlotte, N.C. (Nov. 12, 2015)— The Johnson C. Smith men's basketball team will hit the road for their 2015-16 opener, travelling to Tuskegee, Ala. to take part in the CIAA-SIAC Challenge. The Golden Bulls will tip off action at 5:30 p.m. (CST) on Friday, Nov. 13 against Morehouse. JCSU will take on the host Tuskegee Golden Tigers on Saturday, Nov. 13 at 3:30 p.m. (CST).
Returning for JCSU is All-CIAA selection
Stedmon Lemon (Lithonia, Ga.). Lemon led JCSU in scoring in 2014-15, with 14.3 points per game. He also had 3.5 rebounds per game and connected for 49.7% of his field goal attempts, including a 36.4% mark from three-point range.
Also returning is sophomore guard
Robert Davis, III (West Friendship, Md.). Last season, Davis started in all but one game as a freshman, logging 31.9 minutes per game. Davis also led JCSU in free throw shooting, connecting for 82.7% (110-133) of his attempts. He also shot 43.4% from the field and dished out a team-high 136 assists. Senior
Diondre Pratt (Morven, N.C.) also returns after an excellent junior season where he averaged 7.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, leading JCSU in total rebounds (136. He also shot 51.4% from the field and 73.5% from the free throw line. Pratt also led JCSU in blocks with 49.
Alandre Davis (Florence, S.C.) and
Joshua Linson (San Antonio, Tex.) also return to the lineup for their senior campaigns. Davis saw action in 21 games last season, starting in 15 contests. In those games, he averaged 7.2 points and brought down 4.6 rebounds. Linson caught fire from three-point range late in the season and finished the season shooting 38.3% from long range while averaging 8.5 points.
Expecting to contibute heavily is newcomer
Christian Kirchman (Roanoke, Va.). Kirchman spent last season at Wytheville Community College in Wytheville, Va. While with the Wildcats, Kirchman averaged 23.7 points per game, finishing ninth nationally in the NJCAA. He shot 44.5% from the field and 36.1% from three-point range in 2014-15. He also shot 79.8% from the free throw line and averaged 3.6 rebounds per contest.
In his 29th year on the bench for the Golden Bulls, head coach
Stephen Joyner, Sr. is quickly approaching the 500 win milestone. Joyner, the all-time leader in CIAA wins, enters the 2015-16 season with an overall mark of 497-308.
