ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights men's basketball team opens the season tomorrow night with a matchup against Grace Christian in the SHU Fieldhouse. The game is scheduled for an 8:00 p.m., EST, tip-off. The Saints finished 2018-19 with a 17-13 overall record and a 12-8 mark in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC). They finished fourth in the WHAC standings and hosted an opening-round game of the tournament against Rochester in which they won, 75-70. Siena was knocked out of the tournament in the semi-finals against Cornerstone, 84-66.
The Saints return four of the five leading scorers from last year's squad including Keith Jordan Jr. who led the team with 17.3 points-per-game and 6.8 rebounds-per-game. Jordan also led in rebounds with 6.8 per game and was the team's lone representative on the first team All-WHAC and all-defensive teams. Jordan finished the season being named a National Association of Intercollegiate Athletics (NAIA) All-American honorable mention.
DeMarco Dickerson also returns to the team this year. Dickerson finished last season second in scoring (15.6 PPG) and rebounding (5.9 RPG) while leading the team in assists per game with 3.0. The senior from Detroit, Michigan was selected to the second team All-WHAC for his performance last year.
Kevin Smith II was second on the team in assists (2.4 APG) and fourth in scoring (9.9 PPG). He was the Saint representative on the WHAC Champions of Character team following the 2018-19 season.
Jaquantay Rouser was the fifth-leading scorer for the Siena Heights men's hoops team with 9.0 points-per-game. He also finished third in average rebounds with 5.6.
The Saints are led by eighth-year head coach Joe Pechota. Pechota has an overall record of 87-123 and a 40-91 mark in the WHAC. The team is 2-5 in season openers in Pechota's first seven seasons. They hold a 2-1 record in these games the past three seasons including a 1-1 mark in season-opening games at home.
Tomorrow night's contest will tipoff at 8:00 p.m., EST and can be followed via live stats and video. Saint fans can also tune into the preseason interviews with coach Pechota and a few members from the team at the links below.
