Central State University hosts Christian Brothers University to open the 2016-2017 basketball season

WILBERFORCE, Ohio – The Marauders of Central State University open the 2016-2016 basketball season this Friday when they host Christian Brothers University at 3 pm. Friday's home opener is part of the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference – Gulf South Conference Challenge.

MARAUDER RETURNERS
Five players return from the 2015-2016 roster including center Robert Konteh and forward Jeremy Brown.

Konteh, a 6'9 senior from New York, solidified himself as a premier shot blocker in the SIAC last season. He swatted away 35 opponent shot attempts, including a 7 block performance in last year's season opener against Harris-Stowe. His 1.4 bpg ranked fourth in the SIAC. Konteh has been working all summer long on his conditioning with the goal of playing for longer period of time this season.

Entering his junior season, Brown is often times the most energetic and well-conditioned player on the floor. Earning a starting spot after walking on to the team as a freshman, Brown has missed just one game in his two years thus far. As a sophomore, Brown led the team in rebounding and ranked third in the conference with 7.1 rpg. He also led the Marauders in steals with 49 while chipping in with 8.7 ppg.

CSU also expects major contributions from guards Tom Johnson, Dymiere Finch and Jalen Newsome.
 
NEW SEASON…NEW PLAYERS
Coming off an 11-15 mark from last season, Coach Price has revamped his roster which encompasses nine new players including senior transfers and likely starters Keilan Blanks and Markese McGuire.

Blanks, who scored 23 points in CSU's only preseason game earlier this week, comes in with experience playing at the NCAA Div. I level at Lamar and Tennessee State. Blanks is expected to bring leadership and stability as the starting point guard for CSU head coach Joseph Price, who enters his third season at the helm of the program. Blanks sat out last season while taking classes on the CSU campus. During that time, he was able to familiarize himself with Price's system and the other players on the team.

McGuire comes to the Marauders after spending the previous three seasons playing for the Flames of the University of Illinois at Chicago. In his time at UIC, McGuire, a 6'3 shooting guard, made 88 appearances with 16 starts. He also had an outstanding prep career at Elkhart Memorial High School (Ind.) where he finished as the school's all-time leading scorer while earning All-State recognition.

Other newcomers include Thomas Farrior (Willingboro, N.J.), Joey Williams (Dayton, Ohio), Jermaine Crowder (Wilson, N.C.), Frank Barber III (Cleveland, Ohio), Isaiah Banks (Indianapolis, Ind.), Chris Cook (Canton, Ohio) and Dwight Richards, Jr. (Fort Wayne, Ind.)
 

SCOUTING CHRISTIAN BROTHERS UNIVERSITY
Coach Mike Nienaber returns for his 18^th season leading the CSU Buccaneers. Coming of a 12-17 campaign from a year ago, CBU has retooled their roster to build around last year's leading scorer Jeff Larkin and GSC Freshman of the Year Adam Dieball.

A 6'0 junior guard from Cincinnati, Ohio, Larkin averaged 18.3 ppg, which included a career-high 37 points against Union University last season. Dieball became the Bucs' ninth GSC Freshman of the Year after averaging 14.9 ppg, 4.2 rpg and 3.9 apg. Both Larken and Dieball were selected to the GSC All-Preseason Team last month.

CBU's roster includes five freshman in Brad Miller, Mitch Mays, Joe Laravie, Prentiss Bobo and Aaron King. CBU was selected 10^th in the D2SIDA South Region Preseason Poll.


THE SERIES
Central State will face Christian Brothers for just the second time in history on Friday. The only other time the programs met was on Nov. 16, 2001 with CSU beating CBU, 81-74. The teams will face each other again in Memphis, Tennessee this Sunday.
 
HONORARY COACHES
The CSU coaching staff will have two additional members on the bench on Friday. Colonel Reginald Bryant and Sergeant Dillon Beckford will serve as honorary coaches for the Marauders. Colonel Bryant and Sergeant Beckford are key members of the Central State University campus. Bryant is also a Professor of Military Science at CSU. Beckford is currently the Director of the University Center. He served in the U.S. Army from 1992 to 2002.

MEDIA COVERAGE
Fans can follow the game on the following outlets:
 
Radio -  Gem City Sports Network (http://www.gemcitysports.com/radio-1/)
Video -  CSU Sports Streaming Channel (http://maraudersports.com/watch/)
Live Stats -  Marauder Live Stats site (http://www.sidearmstats.com/centralstate/mbball/)
 

TICKETS
For tickets to Friday's game, go to - http://centralstate.universitytickets.com/user_pages/event.asp?id=351&cid=31

Tickets may also be purchased by cash at the ticket window.

All active and retired military personnel will gain free admission when presenting a valid D.O.D. Identification Card.

Doors open 30 minutes prior to that start of the game.

 

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