Fifth-year head coach Mitch Oliver will lead the Albertus Magnus men's basketball team on Tuesday in the team's 2011-12 season opener against non-conference foe Coast Guard. That contest is scheduled to begin at 7:00 p.m. in the Cosgrove Marcus Messer Athletic Center.
The Falcons are coming off of an 18-11 record from 2010-11, while they finished 15-4 in the Great Northeast Athletic Conference before advancing to the ECAC Tournament semifinals at Eastern Connecticut State University.
Albertus was led last season by GNAC All-Conference First Team member Ray Askew (Hamden, Conn.), who returns for his senior year in 2011-12. Last season, Askew led the Falcons with 21.5 points per game, 603 total points scored, 312 rebounds and a 50.5-shooting percentage from the floor. For his efforts, Askew was also named to the All-Region Second Team by D3Hoops.com as he was ranked 20th in the nation in points per contest and 18th in the country with 11.1 rebounds per game.
Sophomore Darius Watson (New Britain, Conn.), who was named the GNAC Rookie of the Year last season, is coming off of a freshman campaign in which he averaged 12.7 points per game and shot 45.5-percent from the field.
Albertus will look to fill the void left by the departure of Walden St. Juste, a player who averaged 16.9 points, 2.2 steals and 2.1 assists per game last season. Arshad Jackson (Hartford, Conn.) will likely step up into a bigger role for the Falcons after he averaged 9.8 points and 17.9 minutes per contest in 2010-11.
After the Falcons open the season on Tuesday against the USCGA, they will have a week off from competition until their Nov. 22 home contest against Western Connecticut State University. Last season, Askew scored a season-high 36 points at WCSU, while he also grabbed 13 rebounds in the Falcons' 103-99 loss.
Following the Thanksgiving break, the Falcons will host York at 1:00 p.m. on Sunday, Nov. 27 before their first road game at Mitchell College on Tuesday, Nov. 29.
