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August 21, 2014 | Basketball (M)

Veteran Mukiya PostVeteran Mukiya Post

NCAA games tip off new season for men's basketball

The Concordia Stingers men’s basketball team will launch the 2014-15 campaign with a couple of home exhibition games versus NCAA Division 1 schools.

The Fordham Rams will meet the Stingers on Monday, Aug. 25 at 7 p.m. in the Concordia gym on the Loyola campus. Located in New York City, Fordham University is one of 28 Jesuit colleges and universities in the United States. 

The Rams, who finished with a 10-21 win-loss record last season, are members of the Atlantic 10 conference which sent six teams to the NCAA tournament last year.

Two days later, the Stingers will host the Loyola Maryland Greyhounds also at 7 p.m. in Concordia gym. The Baltimore-based school had an 11-19 record and played in the Patriot League. The Greyhounds went to the NCAA tournament in 2012 losing to Ohio State in the opening round.

Both American teams are on week-long tours playing universities in Montreal and Quebec City.

Concordia head coach John Dore put together several summer practices with key recruits and returning players to get ready for the early games.

“I think these games are important to play because it’s an opportunity to highlight Canadian university basketball,” Dore said. “It’s a good showcase for us and a good measuring stick. A lot of kids underrate Canadian basketball and overrate American basketball.”

Local basketball fans will get their first chance to see the new look Stingers. 

“We’re going to be a young team but extremely athletic,” said Dore. “This year we will have some of the best athletes we’ve ever had.”

One new Stinger to keep an eye on is six-foot-10 newcomer Jean-Louis Wayna who returns to Montreal after playing with State Fair Community College last season.

Dore also has high praise for rookie forward Ken Beaulieu from Collège Édouard-Montpetit. He says Beaulieu is the best athlete coming out of the Quebec cégep system this year.

The key veteran to watch is forward Mukiya Post who averaged 17.6 points and 5.8 rebounds a game in 2013-14. He was the leading scorer in the Quebec conference and hopes to improve on his strong performance in his final year of eligibility.

The Stingers will still hold open tryouts on Sept. 2 at 1 p.m. in Concordia gym.