Golden Tigers tip 2016 season off Friday
TUSKEGEE, Ala. (goldentigersports.com) — The 2016-17 regular season for the Tuskegee University men’s basketball team gets underway Friday afternoon inside Chappie James Arena, hosting Palm Beach Atlantic University at 2:30 Friday afternoon.
Tuskegee (14-13 a season ago) was picked to finish fourth in the SIAC West Division poll, on a vote from the coaches and the sports information directors, picking up two first place votes along the way. Meanwhile, Palm Beach Atlantic (12-14 a season ago) is currently a provisional member of the Sunshine State Conference and the two teams will meet for the first time in school history.
Sophomore James Eads, a preseason All-SIAC selection, leads the Golden Tigers who return eight players from a season ago. The sophomore guard/forward averaged 11.1 points per game last season, including scoring in double figures 15 times as a true freshman and was a weekly winner of the SIAC Player of the Week one time during the 2015-16 season. He is joined by fellow returning starters Elijah McMillan and Joshua Culver, who come back this season as the team’s leading returning rebounder (5.9 rpg) and blocked shots (0.8 bpg) respectively.
Of the other five players returning, Austin Cherry returns as the sixth man from last season who was an SIAC Player of the Week last season. The sophomore averaged 6.4 points per game off the bench and shot 36.8 percent from beyond the arc last season. Daniel Roach also returns as a key contributor off the bench for the Golden Tigers, returning after averaging 4.8 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.
Other returning players for the Golden Tigers include Thomas Massey, Joel Nuriddin and Dominic Norton.
Tuskegee will also turn to Travis Flagg to replace Kevin May at point guard, and as a junior Flagg will be turned to as a leader on and off the court. A pair of freshman, Myles Thomas and Alex Perry, will also add minutes for the Golden Tigers and third-year coach Jerry Dunn.
Tuskegee is 2-0 in regular season openers under Dunn, including winning at home last season against Fayetteville State (78-70) as part of the CIAA/SIAC Challenge.
The game tips at 2:30 pm inside Chappie James Arena, and can be seen on the Tuskegee Digital Network.
