RIVERSIDE --- For the first week of the regular season, California Baptist University's men's basketball team will welcome Jackson State (Nov. 5) and California Lutheran (Nov. 8) to the state-of-the-art CBU Events Center.

The 2019-20 men's basketball team is comprised of five seniors, five juniors, four sophomores, and two freshmen. The leadership at the top will be led by junior guard Milan Acquaah and senior forward De'jon Davis. With a wealth of experience returning for the season, the Lancers look poised to make a mark on their second season of NCAA Division I play. Head Coach Rick Croy and his staff brought in six new players, with the most notable name being redshirt senior Brandon Boyd. Boyd joins the Lancers as the most experienced newcomer in the group after spending three seasons at Idaho State. He finished his career with the Bengals eclipsing the 1,000-point mark and being named as a two-time Big Sky All-Conference honorable mention. As a redshirt junior, he averaged a team-high 14.2 points, 3.6 assists, and 2.5 rebounds in 29.9 minutes last season.
 

GAME INFORMATION
Opponent: vs. Jackson State University
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
When: Nov. 5
Location: CBU Events Center
Video: WAC Digital Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Radio: Fox Sports 1350

Tuesday's game against the Jackson State Tigers will serve as the home opener for the Lancers. Jackson State is located in Jackson, Miss., with an undergraduate enrollment of 7,457 students. The Tigers belong to the Southwestern Athletic Conference (SWAC) and finished the 2018-19 season with an overall record of 13-19 and a SWAC record of 10-8.

The Tigers were picked to finish fifth in the Preseason SWAC coaches' poll, while the conference favorite Prairie View A&M will visit Riverside on Nov. 22 for the 2K Empire Classic.

The Tigers averaged 61.7 points per game last season, which ranked them at 346th out of 353 teams nationally. They were able to hold teams to 65.8 points per game, which ranked them inside the top-50 at 41st, nationwide.

JSU comes into Tuesday's game with a 4-7 record against Western Athletic Conference teams, with its last win coming against Chicago State, 81-68, on Nov. 11, 2018. The Tigers will be road warriors this season, as they will play 11 of their 13 non-conference games on the road. With a heavy travel schedule, six of those 13 non-conference games will be in mountain or Pacific Time zones.

As for the 2019-20 team, the Tigers return four of their five starters from last season. Venji Wallis returns for his senior season after leading JSU in scoring with an average of 12.5 points per game.

Notable Names - JSU:

• Venji Wallis (2018-19): A 6-6 versatile senior guard that averaged a team-best 12.5ppg. He played in 31 games while starting in 27 with a team-best 31.2 minutes per game. He shot 42.1 percent from the field, 27.3 from the 3-point line, and 64.6 percent from the stripe. He was third on the team in rebounds (4.3) and first in steals (44).
•   Jayveous McKinnis (2018-19): A 6-7 sophomore forward that played in 28 games while starting in 25. McKinnis averaged the fourth-most minutes per game at 26.2. He shot 66.5 percent from the field, 49.2 percent from the free-throw line, and led the team in rebounds with an average of 7.8 per game.
• Dontelius Ross (2018-19): A 5-9 senior guard that averaged the third-most minutes per game (30.0). Ross played in 30 games while starting in 25 and finished the season as the Tigers best free throw shooter (80.0). He averaged 5.3 points per game and led the team in assist with 93.
• Lemmie Howard (2018-19): A 6-7 junior guard that played in all 31 games for the Tigers. Howard started 13 of those 31 with an average of 19.5 minutes per game. He was fifth on the team in scoring with 6.3 points per game and was the top 3-pointer shooter for the Tigers.

This marks the first meeting between the Lancers and the Tigers.

GAME INFORMATION
Opponent: vs. California Luthern University
Time: 7 p.m. (PST)
When: Nov. 8
Location: CBU Events Center
Video: WAC Digital Network
Live Stats: StatBroadcast
Radio: Fox Sports 1350

As for Friday's game, the Lancers welcome an old familiar friend to campus. California Lutheran University is located in Thousand Oaks, Calif., and is an NCAA Division III member. The Lancers will meet the Kingsmen for the 25th time in the program's history, as the Lancers hold a 14-10 over record against CLU. CBU and CLU's history dates back to the 1971-72 season when the two teams first faced each other on the hardwood.

The Kingsmen are coached by Russell White, who was hired in July of 2019. He serves as the 13th head coach in the program's history. White takes over a program that finished the 2018-19 season with a 7-18 overall record and 5-11 record in the Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SCIAC).

Last season, the Kingsmen held an average of 71.2 points per game, while allowing their opponents to average 80.6ppg. It will be a lot of new faces for the Kingsmen this season, as only five players return on the 16-player squad. The most notable name coming back for CLU is Palmer Chaplin. Chaplin averaged 6.4 points per game, which was fifth-best on the team. CLU graduated Kyle Ferreira and Austin Cole, who combined for 53 percent of the scoring last season.