FREMONT, Neb. – Midland University’s men’s basketball team will take the court on Halloween to begin the journey of their 2020-2021 men’s basketball season. This season will be the sixth under head coach Oliver Drake and the Warriors will look to improve upon last year’s late-season success and contend in the Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC).
The Warriors have plenty of reasons to be excited about the new season, specifically they will have plenty of chemistry as they return eight of eleven varsity players from last season. The Warriors return five players who saw time in the starting lineup including Laurence Merritt, Bowen Sandquist, Jake Rueschhoff, Samuel Mailloux, and Emmanuel Bryson.
Merritt, a senior from Chicago, Illinois, was the Warriors’ leading scorer last season and earned All-GPAC Honorable Mention recognition last season averaging 16.7 points, 2.3 rebounds, and 3.0 assists per game.
Sandquist, a junior from Johnston, Iowa, led the Warriors in playing time last season, averaging 36 minutes a game, and earned Second-Team All-GPAC accolades with averages of 15.3 points and 3.1 rebounds per game.
Last season the Warriors won three of their final five games, finishing 10-17 (6-14 GPAC) overall. Eight of their losses came by 10 or fewer points.
Midland’s 2020-21 slate will feature 20 games within the GPAC and 5 games outside of conference play. The Warriors will take on Grand View, Dakota State, William Penn, Waldorf, and Bellevue.
The Warriors will open the season at home against Grand View on Saturday, October 31. This is the first matchup between the Warriors and Vikings since 2017 when they split a pair of games, with each winning once. Tip-off is set for at 4:00 p.m. in the Wikert Event Center in Fremont, Nebraska.
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