PIKEVILLE, Ky. -- The 2017-18 men's basketball season at the University of Pikeville will get started on Friday and Saturday with the annual Tip-Off Classic. This year's classic will be held at the UPIKE Gym due to scheduling conflicts at the East Ky. Expo Center. Admission is $5 at the door and season tickets will be honored and can be picked up at the door if not already received at the Expo Center.
The following teams are scheduled to appear in the classic:
No. 14 UPIKE: The Bears are coming off a 28-8 season in which they advanced to the program's fourth trip to the quarterfinals of the NAIA National Tournament. While All-American Darrion Leslie and reigning Mid-South Conference Freshman of the Year Jordan Perry return, UPIKE will also be relying on 11 newcomers to the program.
Head coach Kelly Wells enters his 12th season at the helm, sporting a 259-97 record, making him the winningest coach in UPIKE history and the 22nd winningest among active NAIA coaches. In the last four years, Wells' teams are 70-4 in Pikeville, a record they'll hope to improve this weekend.
Leslie will be the player to keep an eye on as he looks to keep up his 14.2 points and 6.6 rebounds per game tallied a season ago. This team may have more offensive weapons, so seeing how Leslie can take advantage without so much of the defensive attention will be interesting. Perry improved his shooting down the stretch, finishing the season over 33 percent from three and senior Rze Culbreath will be hard to keep off the court at point guard after making nine starts as a junior.
Central Penn: A member of the USCAA (United States Collegiate Athletic Association), Central Penn will be opening its season on Friday against the Bears. Last year, UPIKE won 79-59 in the season opener. The Knights had a strong finish in their division, tallying a 25-9 record and advancing to the second round of the USCAA Div. II Championships where they lost 82-71 to Penn State York.
Of the top five scorers in last season's game at UPIKE, only sophomore Randy Dupont out of Harlem, N.Y., returns. He finished with seven points and six rebounds in the loss. Central Penn features just one player over 6-5 in sophomore Savalas Pope who is listed at 6-8.
David Archer, who played for Central Penn in 2001 and was most recently the head coach at Central Pennsylvania Community College, is in his first season as head coach.
Florida National: The Conquistadors of Florida National are also a part of the USCAA and are coached by J.J. Thatcher who is entering his fourth season at the helm. Under Thatcher's guidance, Florida National has qualified for the last three USCAA National Tournaments.
Antonio Sims, a 5-8 senior point guard, is the player to watch as he was named a Second Team USCAA All-American at the end of last season. After trailing by eight at halftime last season, UPIKE had to outscore Florida National 47-37 in the second half to secure a two-point win on the road. Sims had 19 points in that one, hitting two 3's and making all five of his free throws.
No. 3 William Penn: According to at least one voter in the coaches' poll, William Penn is the best team in the nation in NAIA Div. I as it claimed a first-place vote in the preseason poll released on Tuesday. With the help of that vote, the Statesmen are ranked No. 3 nationally after finishing last season with a 33-4 record and appearance in the NAIA Fab 4 and winning both the Heart of America Athletic Conference Regular-Season and Tournament titles.
John Henry, entering his 17th season as head coach of the team from Oskaloosa, Iowa, returns just three players from that team, including senior Corbin Medley who led that trio with over seven points per game. The bulk of the scoring could come from three players who redshirted last season after transferring in from the NCAA ranks, including Dominique Shaw from Prairie View A&M, Terrell Thompson from Austin Peay and Mikeal Donaldson out of South Carolina State.
Thompson is expected to start as part of a two point guard lineup that also includes Iona transfer Aakim Santil. Things get even better for the Statesmen in January when Missouri transfer D'Angelo Allen and Tyler Wood, currently the quarterback for the William Penn football team, are expected to join the team.
UPIKE Tip-Off Classic Schedule
Friday, Oct. 27
6 p.m. ET - William Penn vs. Florida National
8 p.m. ET - UPIKE vs. Central Penn
Saturday, Oct. 28
5:30 p.m. ET - William Penn vs. Central Penn
7:30 p.m. ET - UPIKE vs. Florida National
Live stats will be available of both UPIKE games here.
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