On Friday, Oct. 25, the Union University men’s basketball team traveled to Austin Peay State University to participate in an exhibition game. Likewise, on Sunday, Oct. 27, the women’s basketball team took on Oregon State University in a pre-season game.
The intent with these pre-season games against Division 1 competitors is to play a team who is superior in talent and skill in order to better prepare lower division teams like Union for their season. Most of the time, scores will be largely lopsided favoring the D-1 team, but this time it was different.
Former GSC Freshman of the Year, redshirt sophomore Tyree Boykin, returned from an injury for what was his first game back since November of 2018. Considering the way he played, it seemed as if he had never stepped off the floor.
Austin Peay came out strong, but Boykin and freshman forward Cooper Meadows had something to say about that. Meadows came off the bench and provided some much needed energy, along with a slew of impactful plays that changed the game.
Down the stretch in the first half, the Ohio Valley Conference Preseason Player of the Year, Terry Taylor, led Austin Peay, while Boykin headed up the scoring attack for the Bulldogs.
Going in at half, the Bulldogs trailed by only six, 46-40, with Boykin contributing 21 points.
After the break, Austin Peay quickly went up and stood at a 12-point lead minutes into the second half. Union came growling back as Boykin continued to stay hot while gaining more contributions from Meadows as well as Terrandus Smith and Ty Parks.
The Bulldogs were down by 11 with two and a half minutes to play, but that did not stop them from pulling within four, which is where the deficit stood at the end of the game, 99-95.
Overall, the game proved to be very promising and hopeful for the Bulldogs. Boykin finished the game with 42 points, while Meadows finished with 14.
“I feel like we gave ourselves a chance, we just got killed on the glass and missed some key free throws down the stretch,” said head coach David Niven. “I think there is a lot to be hopeful about this team. This was a good test for us.”
The men are now looking forward to the excitement of homecoming week, which will be capped off when they play Rhodes College in another exhibition game at the Fred on Saturday, Nov. 2, at 4 p.m.
As for the women’s basketball team, they were put up against great competition this past weekend.
OSU is coming off a season where they finished 26-8 while being ranked 10th in the nation in Division 1, while Union was 27-4 and ranked 24th in the nation in Division 2.
The Lady Beavers ended up beating the Lady Bulldogs 95-41 in a hard-fought game.
Senior preseason All-Conference selection Jada Smith is looking forward to her last season at Union.
“In my 5 years here, this has been my favorite team to play with already because of how different and unique it is. Everyone has a passion to win and compete,” said Smith. “There is still a lot to improve, but the chemistry is really solid for it to be this early. This will be a very special year, and I am excited for everyone to watch.”
There is much to be excited about for this basketball season. Even though both teams came up short in their games, they showed great promise. As Smith said, this year on the court is going to be a special one.
Photo courtesy of Nikki Grim.