THOMASVILLE, Ga. - Thomas takes part in the Veteran's Day Classic, hosted by NAIA Division I member Faulkner (Ala.), on Friday and Saturday. The Night Hawks face the Eagles on Friday at 8 p.m. ET before matching up against Talladega (Ala.), also from NAIA Division I, on Satuday at 3 p.m.
Friday's game will be televised online through YouTube, and live stats will be available on both days through TUNightHawks.com.
Veteran's Day Classic
Game 4/Thomas (3-0) at Faulkner (3-0)
Friday, Nov. 10 • 8 p.m. ET
Montgomery, Ala. • Tine Davis Gymnasium
TV: YouTube
Live Stats: TUNightHawks.com
Series History: Faulkner leads 1-0
Coach Crews vs. Faulkner: 0-1
Veteran's Day Classic
Game 6/Thomas (3-0) vs. Talladega (3-1)
Saturday, Nov. 11 • 3 p.m. ET
Montgomery, Ala. • Tine Davis Gymnasium
Live Stats: TUNightHawks.com
Series History: First meeting
Coach Crews vs. Talladega: First meeting
ABOUT THOMAS
Thomas is coming off a 122-52 exhibition loss at Florida State on Tuesday. The exhibition was the first in Night Hawks' history against a Power Five conference opponent and the first of two this season against NCAA Division I foes.
Johnnel Ginnie led the Night Hawks with 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting.
Hezekiah Goodwin chipped in nine points.
Eric Johnson finished 5-of-6 from the free throw line, as coach
Brent Crews' squad was 13-of-19.
Jerodd Blount pulled down seven rebounds for the Green and White.
Jakari Bush had three assists.
In addition to Bush, Tuesday's exhibition was a homecoming for
Willie Holloway and
Forrest Freeland, who saw action against Florida State. Holloway pulled down a pair of rebounds to go along with a steal. Freeland scored two points and also pulled down two boards.
ABOUT FAULKNER
The Eagles are coming off an 88-75 win at home over USCAA member Concordia (Ala.) on Monday.
Rene Scott led five Eagles in double figures with 15 points to go along with four assists and two steals. C.J. Jones and Adnan Halilovic each had 14 points. Marquis Grays added 13 points and four assists. Earvin Perroni poured in a double-double with 10 points and 14 rebounds.
Faulkner shot 6-of-13 from deep in the first 20 minutes and led 45-32 at halftime.
The Eagles ended 46.6 percent (27-of-58) from the field and 42.1 percent (8-of-19) from behind the arc to go along with 26 (26-of-33) made free throws. Faulkner outrebounded Concordia, 41-30.
The Eagles rank 13th in NAIA Division I in scoring defense per game (64.0), 15th in rebound defense (31.0), 17th in blocks per game (4.0), 20th in 3-point field goals made (27), 21st in rebound margin (10.7) and 24th in assists per game (18.0).
Grays leads NAIA Division I in assist/turnover ratio (8.0) and ranks 19th in 3-pointers made (10). Perroni is 15th in defensive rebounds per game (7.0) and 23rd in rebounds per game (9.0).
ABOUT TALLADEGA
The Tornadoes are coming off an 81-74 exhibition loss at USCAA member Oakwood (Ala.).
Talladega ranks second in NAIA Division I in rebound defense (27.3), 10th in scoring defense per game (61.8), 14th in steals (35), 15th in 3-point field goal percentage (0.423), 18th in scoring offense (328), 22nd in free throw percentage (0.732) and 25th in rebound offense (136).
Khaliel Spearman ranks 16th in NAIA Division I in steals (8) and 45th in scoring (59). Devonte Dixon is 37th in 3-point field goals made (8) and 43rd in steals (6).
LAST TIME OUT AGAINST THE EAGLES
Thomas lost at Faulkner, 90-54, on Dec. 15, 2015.
Di'mar Hill ended with a double-double with 24 points and 10 assists to go along with four steals in the win. Lucas Lutrell and Robert Baltruns each scored 14 points, while Grays added 11.
Adonai Rogers led Thomas with 16 points, while Javoris Cooks and Mike Lyons added 11 and 10 points, respectively. Devonte Birdsong grabbed 11 rebounds, while Andrea Robinson added eight.
The Eagles shot 52.8 percent (28-of-53) from the field and went 13-for-27 from behind the arc.
Thomas won the battle of the boards, 44-39.
VETERAN'S DAY CLASSIC
Live stats for all Veteran's Day Classic games are available.
AMONG THE BEST IN NAIA
Thomas ranks eighth in NAIA Division II in 3-point field goal percentage (0.46) and field goal percentage (0.533), 27th in rebound defense (32.0), 29th in field goal percentage defense (0.404), 33rd in 3-point field goal percentage defense (0.305), 35th in scoring offense per game (88.0) and scoring margin (13.0), 38th in treys made per game (9.7), 40th in assists per game (17.0) and 42nd in rebound margin (7.0).
Ginnie is 14th in NAIA Division II in field goal percentage (0.710) and 43rd in points per game (20.0). Cooks ranks 23rd in 3-pointers made per game (3.3). Holloway is 33rd in blocks (5).
COOKS BECOMES ALL-TIME LEADING SCORER
On Oct. 27, Cooks moved past
Rogers at the 16:47 mark of the first half on a trey to become the school's all-time leading scorer.
COOKS SURPASSES 1,000 POINTS
Also on Oct. 27, Cooks became the program's first member of the 1,000-point club following two made free throws with 1:13 left in the second half. He now has 1,032 career points.
TOP 25 OPPONENTS
Thomas faces three ranked opponents - No. 14 Florida Memorial, No. 20 Saint Thomas (Fla.), No. 25 Warner (Fla.) - and two that are receiving votes - Keiser (Fla.), Southeastern (Fla.) - in the 2017-18 NAIA Division II Men's Basketball Coaches' Preseason Top 25.
RIVERS TO REDSHIRT THIS SEASON
Thomas'
Demetrius Rivers is redshirting this season and will have four seasons of eligibility remaining.
