THIS WEEK
The University of Colorado Colorado Springs men's basketball team will head 11 hours southwest to Stephenville, Texas to open the 2018-19 season at the Tarleton State University Classic Nov. 9-10.  The Mountain Lions will begin the weekend against the host team, TSU, on Friday, Nov. 9 at 6 p.m. (MT), followed by Saturday's matchup against Angelo State University at 1 p.m. (MT).
 
ABOUT THE MOUNTAIN LIONS
UCCS was picked seventh in the 2018-19 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference preseason coaches' poll.  Senior guard Elijah Ross was also selected to the RMAC preseason team.

Ross, a 2018 All-RMAC First Team selection, started 23 of 28 games last season.  He averaged 16.3 points and 5.2 rebounds per game while dishing out 154 assists and 11 blocked shots.  He finished the season shooting 47 percent from the floor (134-of-285), and 41.5 percent from long range (39-of-94).
 
Padiet Wang and Brandon Malone join Ross as returning starters to the program.  Wang averaged 27.2 minutes per game and was the fifth leading scorer on the team with 7.7 points.  Malone chimed in with 10.3 points per game and averaged the second most minutes on the team (27.2).
 
Dalton Walker came off the bench last season and led the Mountain Lions in three-point shooting, hitting 62-f-155 for a solid .400 shooting mark.
 
SCOUTING TARLETON STATE
The Texans are coming off a 2-0 road trip at the Small College Basketball Hall of Fame Classic in St. Joseph, Mo. with wins over Missouri Western and William Jewell. Josh Hawley was named to the All-Tournament team after averaging 17 points and 13.5 rebounds and recording a pair of double-doubles. Corinthian Ramsey (14.5) and Randall Broddie (10.5) are averaging double figures in scoring through two games.
 
The Texans are coming off a 19-11 season where they finished third in the LSC with a 12-6 record. The Texans advanced to the LSC tournament semifinals.  TSU was picked to finish third in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll.  They are under the direction of first year head coach Chris Reisman.
 
SCOUTING ANGELO STATE
Angelo State was picked to finish fourth in the Lone Star Conference preseason poll. The Rams went 18-11 overall last year, including their first road win against Tarleton State since 2001 and a home victory over then-No. 6 UT Permian Basin. Their record was good for fifth in the LSC as they lost in the quarterfinals of the conference tournament. 

ASU is bringing back four players off of last year's team, including James Kirksey, Daron Mims, Antonio Singleton and Michael Kirkland. Both Mims and Kirksey averaged double figures last year, with Kirksey scoring 11 a game and Mims scoring 10.5. Singleton also averaged 21 minutes a game last season while shooting 38 percent from behind the arc.

Angelo State head coach Cinco Boone and his staff have also added nine transfer players for this season along with a pair of freshman out of high school to bolster this year's roster. 
 
HEAD COACH JEFF CULVER
Jeff Culver, who led UCCS to its first RMAC championship in program history, is in his seventh season as the Head Coach at UCCS in 2018-19. He's coached the only NBA Draft pick and the only All-Americans in program history in the past six years.

Culver was the only four-year head coach to offer Derrick White a scholarship out of high school, and he would become a two-time All-American and the No. 29 pick by the San Antonio Spurs in the 2017 NBA Draft. White played with Alex Welsh, the other All-American in program history, and the two hold the top spots in the UCCS career scoring records.

Culver came to UCCS after a seven-year career at Johnson & Wales, where he also doubled as athletic director for the final six years. As athletic director at Johnson & Wales, Culver led a $7 million renovation to campus athletic facilities.
 
UP NEXT
The Mountain Lions will hit the road next weekend, Nov. 17-18.  UCCS will play at the University of Nebraska at Kearney on Nov. 17 at 4 p.m. (MT), and at Fort Hays State University on Sunday at 3 p.m. (MT).