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| Herschel Rodgers will begin his senior season Nov. 3 at Breckon Sports Center when Park hosts Central Methodist to begin the 2009-10 season. |
• 2009-10 Printable Schedule (PDF)
PARKVILLE, Mo. – Park University men’s basketball coach Jason Kline has released his team’s 28-game schedule for the 2009-10 season, including 10 games against national tournament qualifiers and a 14-game schedule in the American Midwest Conference, marking the Pirates’ first year back in the AMC since 1999-2000.
Six of the 14 games on Park’s AMC schedule will be played inside Breckon Sports Center, and in all 12 of the Pirates 28 games will be played at home.
Park will also play eight games against teams who played for their conference tournament championships, and the 2009-10 schedule features two of the four teams left in the semifinals of the 2009 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Men’s Basketball National Championship and one team who advanced to the tournament quarterfinals.
“This schedule will be a test for our returning guys, as well as the newcomers to our roster,” Kline said. “We lost a lot of quality minutes off of last year’s roster that we have to replace, and with our schedule, we’ll have to be ready right out of the gate.”
Park will open the season at home on Nov. 3 against NAIA Division I National Tournament participant Central Methodist, who earned the second of three bids to the tournament from the Heart of America Athletic Conference last season.
CMU is also the first of four-straight HAAC opponents to begin the 2009-10 season for Park, and the Pirates play seven of their first nine games in the non-conference schedule against HAAC teams.
The season continues at MidAmerica Nazarene’s Jeff Uphaus Classic in Olathe Nov. 6-7, where the Pirates will take on Avila before playing MNU, who advanced to the NAIA’s Fab Four last season.
Park returns home Nov. 10 for a Townsend Trophy match-up with national tournament qualifier William Jewell, followed by trip south that pits the Pirates against classic co-hosts Central Bible and Evangel, Nov. 13-14, in Springfield, Mo.
A trip to William Jewell completes the season series with the Cardinals on Nov. 17, followed by a two-game home-stand, beginning Nov. 21 with Kansas Wesleyan, where Kline spent three seasons as an assistant coach. The Pirates also host MidAmerica Nazarene in the two-game set, as the Pioneers visit Breckon Sports Center on Nov. 24.
Park will spend its Thanksgiving break taking on its only two NCAA opponents of the 2009-10 season in the 2009 Rock U/Harvesters Classic at Rockhurst’s Mason-Halpin Fieldhouse. The Pirates open the event on Nov. 27 against Missouri Western, who played for the MIAA tournament championship last season, followed by a Nov. 28 contest against Rockhurst, who qualified for the NCAA Division II National Tournament last season.
The Pirates went 2-1 against the tournament field last year, splitting the season series with Rockhurst and defeating Missouri Western in the only meeting between the two programs in 2008-09.
Park’s first-semester schedule wraps up at home on Dec. 1 against Peru State College, and the Pirates resume Jan. 4 at Kansas Wesleyan, in the team’s final non-conference tune-up at KWU’s Mabee Arena in Salina, Kan.
“Our non-conference schedule will be as tough as it always has been, but now, it serves another purpose,” Kline said. “The AMC is a quality league, so we need every game on our schedule to prepare ourselves for conference basketball.”
Missouri Baptist visits Breckon Sports Center in the AMC opener for both schools on Jan. 7, followed by a four-game road trip for the Pirates, beginning Jan. 9 at NAIA national runner-up and 2009 AMC tournament champion Columbia.
A pair games in Walnut Ridge, Ark., follow the trip to mid-Missouri, as the Pirates will take on Williams Baptist Friday, Jan. 15, and Saturday, Jan. 16, in back-to-back AMC contests. The road trip concludes Jan. 19 at league-rival Harris-Stowe State.
Park’s next four games alternate between home and away, beginning Jan. 21 at home against William Woods, followed by a Jan. 23 road trip to Hannibal-LaGrange. Jan. 30, the Pirates return home to play 2008-09 AMC regular-season champion McKendree, and February begins on the road, at Missouri Baptist on Feb. 4.
Columbia returns a conference game to Park on Feb. 6 at Breckon Sports Center, followed by the Pirates’ final non-conference game a week later when Park hosts Central Bible. Park will host Harris-Stowe State Feb. 16 before returning a trip to William Woods on Feb. 18, and the Pirates will celebrate senior night on Feb. 20 at home against Hannibal-LaGrange.
“From top-to-bottom, the AMC is a very tough conference,” Kline said. “When you add the fact that Columbia played for a national championship last season and McKendree went as deep as they did in the national tournament, it really turns it up a notch in this league. The AMC will be a great challenge for our guys.”
The regular season concludes Feb. 27 at McKendree, followed by the American Midwest Conference tournament, which begins on campus sites March 4 and continues with quarterfinals on March 6. The AMC will crown its tournament champion March 9, and the champion will receive the league’s automatic bid to the 2010 Buffalo Funds-NAIA Division I Men’s Basketball Championship, March 17-23 at Municipal Auditorium.
In addition to the team’s 28-game regular-season schedule, the Pirates will also play one exhibition game on Oct. 17 at Breckon Sports Center against Livin’ the Dream, which is an exhibition team comprised of former college and professional athletes that compete against top NCAA, NAIA, Junior College and International competition.
The complete schedule, as well as all team information including rosters, statistics, game recaps and player bios, can be found online by visiting www.parkathletics.com.
2009-10 Men’s Basketball Schedule Notes
• The 2009-10 Park University men’s basketball schedule will feature games in four states, including 22 in Missouri, three in Kansas, two in Arkansas and one in Illinois. Last season, Park played games in six states, including 20 in Missouri, four in Nebraska, two in Illinois, two in South Carolina and one in Kansas.
• Park will play nine games against five teams who qualified for the 2009 NAIA Division I tournament. Park will play MidAmerica Nazarene, William Jewell, Columbia and McKendree twice with a single game scheduled to open the season against Central Methodist. All five teams advanced past the first round last March.
• The Pirates national tournament list expands to six opponents when taking the NCAA into account, as Rockhurst also qualified for its national tournament in NCAA Division II.
• Park will play eight games against teams who played for their conference tournament championships, including the games scheduled with Columbia, McKendree, Central Methodist and MidAmerica Nazarene. The Pirates also play Missouri Western, who came through the MIAA bracket to play for the league title as an eight-seed last March at Municipal Auditorium.
• Four sets of Friday-Saturday back-to-back games are on the schedule, including classics at MidAmerica Nazarene, Evangel/Central Bible and Rockhurst. Park also plays a back-to-back conference set in January at Williams Baptist.
• Seven of Park’s first nine games and seven of Park’s total 12 non-conference tilts are against the Heart of America Athletic Conference, including the first four games of the season.
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