Men's Basketball Releases 2007-2008 Schedule
August 27, 2007
Shreveport, La. – On Monday, LSUS men’s basketball head coach Chad McDowell released his team’s 2007-2008 schedule. The 2007-2008 schedule has the Pilots facing three non-conference opponents who advanced to the NAIA National Tournament last season and three NCAA Division 1 programs, including McNeese State, Centenary College and the Northwestern State Demons.
The Pilots return three starters and five lettermen overall from last year’s team which finished 25-7 overall, won their second consecutive conference tournament championship and made their 3rd straight appearance in the NAIA National Tournament. In addition, Coach McDowell and his staff have added a very talented recruiting class to the 2007-2008 roster.
“We are excited about the quality schedule we have put together,” said McDowell. “There is not one night that we can afford to not play our best game and expect to win. Our non-conference schedule will be a good test for us, and the GCAC is as tough as ever. The team we have assembled along with our schedule will make for another exciting year.”
LSUS will open up the pre-season with an exhibition contest versus NCAA Division 1 McNeese State on October 31. This will mark the second time in three years that the two programs have met in an exhibition game. McNeese State defeated the Pilots 91-81 in the 2005-2006 season.
LSUS will begin the 2007-2008 regular season slate on the road in Waxahachie, Texas, in the Pepsi Classic November 2-3. The Pilots will play Paul Quinn College in the season opener on Friday night, and then will face another Red River Athletic Conference opponent and tournament host Southwest Assemblies of God University on Saturday.
The Pilots will return back home on November 6 for their first game in Shreveport; however, this game will not be played at “The Dock.” For the first time in school history, the Pilots will travel across town to face Centenary College. Two nights later, the Pilots will travel over to Tyler to face Texas College (11/8) in the first of two games between the two schools this season. Texas College will make a return trip to Shreveport (11/28) to face the Pilots at “The Dock.”
On November 12, LSUS will finally play its first home game on the season. The Pilots will play host to Jarvis Christian College, a 2007 NAIA National Tournament qualifier. LSUS and Jarvis Christian will also meet for the second time on the year December 6 in Tyler.
Other non-conference games on the schedule include road contests versus ETBU (11/20), Wiley College (12/4), Southwest Assemblies of God University (12/14) and the 2006 NAIA National Champion Texas Wesleyan University (12/15). A home contest versus the University of Texas-Tyler is scheduled for Saturday, November 24.
In the final of three exhibition games versus NCAA Division 1 schools, LSUS will travel to Natchitoches to face the Northwestern State Demons (12/8). The Pilots and Demons have battled three times in the last four seasons with the Demons prevailing in all three contests.
Following a very tough and challenging non-conference schedule, things won’t get any easier as the Pilots enter the New Year and Gulf Coast Athletic Conference play. The Pilots will begin the conference season on the road in New Orleans for games against Loyola University-New Orleans (1/3) and Southern University-New Orleans (1/5).
Belhaven College and Dillard University will be the first two conference opponents to make an appearance at “The Dock” in 2008. LSUS will host Belhaven (1/10), and then will take on Dillard (1/12). The Pilots were a combined 4-0 versus the two teams last season.
After the brief stay at home, the Pilots will make one of the tougher road trips on the year to Mobile, Alabama. In Mobile, the Pilots will take on fierce rivals Spring Hill College (1/17) and the University of Mobile Rams (1/19). The Pilots will look to sweep the two schools on the road for the first time since 2005 after only managing a split the last two seasons.
On January 23, the Pilots will return home for a four game stretch at “The Dock” beginning with the 2007 GCAC Co-champion Xavier University Gold Rush. LSUS defeated the Gold Rush three times last season, including a victory over them in the conference tournament semi-finals giving Coach McDowell his 100th career victory as the head coach at LSUS. The Pilots will conclude the home stand with contests against William Carey College (1/26), Tougaloo College (1/31) and the University of Mobile (2/2).
LSUS will then travel to Jackson, Mississippi for another game with Belhaven (2/7) before returning home to face Loyola (2/9). The Pilots will also make their second trip to New Orleans February 14-16 to play Xavier (2/14) and Dillard (2/16).
After the New Orleans trip, the Pilots will come back home to “The Dock” for games against SUNO (2/21) and Spring Hill (2/23). The Spring Hill contest will be the last regular season home game for the Pilots. LSUS will finish out the regular season on the road with two games versus Tougaloo (2/28) and William Carey (3/1).
The Gulf Coast Athletic Conference Tournament will begin on March 6.
