Bison Tip Off Season vs. LSU-Shreveport Friday

A new-look Oklahoma Baptist University squad will take on LSU-Shreveport Friday in the season opener for both men's basketball teams.

The fifth-ranked Bison, coming off a fourth consecutive NAIA quarterfinal match, will have four new starters in the lineup. While Coach Doug Tolin is not yet ready to tip his hand completely, he holds a couple of aces in Leonard Mosley and Robert Hart.

Mosley was an honorable mention All-America last season and averaged 17 points per game. Hart, snubbed on the All-Conference ballots last year, earned All-SAC Tournament honors, averaging 12 points off the bench.

Those two will start, Tolin acknowledged, but the other three starters are still in a battle.

He has a tough decision to make as Frank Benson, Justin Benson, Andrew Bryant and Mike Fraser have all proven worthy in the front court. Tyler Ryan, Evan Grace, Nick Pope, Bailey Jones and Kyle Griffiths can all make big contributions from the perimeter.

LSU-Shreveport represents a tough assignment for the Bison, who have not lost a season opener since 1983 when the Bison lost at Langston, 72-69. OBU last lost a season opener at home in 1977, falling 65-63 to Cameron.

The Pilots are 35th in the NAIA preseason poll. LSU-Shreveport won 12 of its last 14 games last season and knocked off four NAIA Top 25 teams along the way.

LSUS Pilots junior guard Fredericko Payne and senior guard Derrick Rogers were selected GCAC preseason All-Conference on Thursday, October 28, 2004.The preseason honors are the first for a Pilot. Payne was the leading scorer in the conference last year, averaging 21.8 per game. He was second in the conference in steals. Rogers averaged 17 points a game, and 5.2 rebounds per game.