The Purdue Calumet men’s basketball team opens the regular season Friday with a homecoming matchup against AIB College of Business in the opening game of the Peregrines' annual Tip-Off Classic.
Purdue Calumet (0-0) will take on Eagles (2-0) beginning at 7 p.m. at the Fitness and Recreation Center in the nightcap of a men's basketball doubleheader. In the opener, Michigan-Dearborn (0-1) will face Holy Cross College (0-1) starting at 5 p.m.
HOMECOMING FESTIVITIES: In honor of Purdue Calumet's homecoming celebrations, a pre-game tailgate will take place outside the FNRC, sponsored by Campus Life. Free hotdogs, pop and chips and free PeregrineNation t-shirts to the first 100 students will be available. The school's homecoming candidates will also be announced at halftime of the Purdue Calumet-AIB contest.
2013-14 SEASON RECAP: The Peregrines finished the 2013-14 season with a 19-11 record, recording the most wins since the 2001-02 season and the highest winning percentage since 1985-86. Purdue Calumet returns three starters from last year's team, including all-conference honorable mention recipients Noah Allen (Flora, Ind./Carroll) and Kaspars Brencans (Riga, Latvia/Florida Air Academy). Allen, a 5-foot-10 guard, led the CCAC and ranked second in the NAIA in steals (96) and steals/game (3.20). Brencans, the 6-foot-8 forward, ranked 10th in the CCAC in scoring, averaging 15.5 points per game for the black and gold, while collecting 5.4 rebounds and shot a team high 80.6 percent from the charity stripe. The third starter returning is sophomore Danny Paschen (Schererville, Ind./Lake Central). The 6-foot-7 forward averaged 4.6 ppg while ranking fourth in rebounds per game (7.7) and fifth in total rebounds (232).
SCOUTING AIB: AIB is coming off a 1-28 season and is returning five starters including their leading scorer, senior Brandon Eley who posted 16.9 points per game and 6.3 rebounds last season. The Eagles are also returning senior forwards Jason Cameron (9.0 ppg, 2.9 rpg) and Darryl Stewart (8.9 ppg, 3.8 rpg.)
NEXT UP: Saturday, the Peregrines will take on Michigan-Dearborn in the tournament's finale at approximately 3 p.m. Prior to that game, Holy Cross will face AIB in a 1 p.m. start.
SCOUTING UM-DEARBON: Michigan Dearborn will be returning one of their top scorers, as senior Jamiel Strickland will look to continue his dominance from last season. The 6-foot-2 guard from Wayne, Mich. averaged 11.3 points per game while garnering 3.3 rebounds and 1.8 assists per contest.
SCOUTING HOLY CROSS: Holy Cross is looking to improve on their 20-11 record from last season, returning all two of their starters including leading scorer and 3-point marksman Drew Moore. Moore, a 5-9 senior guard, shot 38.7 percent from downtown, averaging 14.1 points per game along with 1.9 rebounds. Senior guard Zoe Bauer is also returning for the Saints, coming off his best season yet where he averaged 9.6 points per game.
LIVE LOOK: Live video and live stats will be available for all tip-off classic games at http://portal.stretchinternet.com/puc/ '
NOTE: Admission each day is $6 for adults and $4 for children ages 4-17. Purdue Calumet students with a valid ID get in free.