New Orleans – The Dillard University men's basketball team (8-15, 3-3 GCAC) finishes up the home regular season by hosting Philander Smith (13-5, 5-1 GCAC) for Senior Night on Thursday, Feb. 17, at 7:30 p.m. The program then hits the road to take on Rust College (11-12, 3-3 GCAC) on Monday, Feb. 21, at 7:30 p.m.
All students/fans are encouraged to attend the home game on Feb. 17 against Philander Smith College as long as they can show a COVID-19 vaccination card or a negative test result from the last 72 hours that will be checked before entry is allowed at the gym at Dent Hall.
The game will feature a pregame ceremony for the team's four seniors in Kaleb Allison, Nicholas Carmouche, Elijah Moore and Elijah Pittman.
About the Dillard Bleu Devils
The Bleu Devils lost a tough game to Tougaloo College on Feb. 12 in the 2022 edition of the Bleu Devil Classic. The program had the lead for much of the game only to see Tougaloo hang around and make two free throws in the final 10 seconds to escape with the 72-70 victory. Elijah Moore scored a career high 33 points in the loss. He also had five rebounds, three assists and two steals. Kaleb Allison put up 19 points and eight rebounds. Rajhan Billingsley recorded nine points. Nicholas Carmouche handed out eight assists.
DU has played one of the tougher schedules in the country with eight of their losses coming against teams that were ranked when they were played or are currently ranked.
The program has been led this season by Moore. He is getting 15.3 points per game. Moore is also pulling down 5.3 rebounds, leads the team in assists (73) and steals (39). Allison is getting 14.0 points per game. He is second on the club at 7.7 rebounds per game. Jeremiah August is the leading rebounder at 10.5 board per game. He is also averaging 7.1 points per game and leads the team with his 15 blocks. Billingsley has come on strong over the last month and is averaging 12.6 points per game. Taiveyhon Mason is also averaging in double figures at 11.8 points per game. He is third on the team in assists (56) and third in steals (23). Tyrus Crawford is averaging a nearly a double-double at 8.3 points and 9.6 rebounds a contest. Carmouche is second on the team in assists with 66.
Moore was named the GCAC's Player of the Week for the second time this season on Feb. 14. He averaged 33 points, five rebounds and three assists a game while shooting 63 percent from the field. He accounted for 47 percent of the team's points in the loss to Tougaloo College. It was the seventh time that a Dillard men's player has been honored this season as Jay Malone was named the GCAC Player of the Week three times during the first semester. Moore was named the GCAC's Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Jan. 11. He averaged 26 points, eight rebounds and three assists per game on the week for Dillard from Jan. 2 - Jan. 10. Allison was named the GCAC's Player of the Week for the first time in his career on Jan. 19. He averaged 18 points and four rebounds per game for the games from Jan. 11 – Jan. 18. Billingsley was named the GCAC Player of the Week on Feb. 7 after averaging 20 points and five rebounds per game from Jan. 31 – Feb. 5.
As a team, Dillard is averaging 72.6 points a game, shooting 41.7 percent from the field, 32.1 percent from three-point range and 63 percent from the free throw line. The team also has an average of 44 rebounds, 15 assists and 7.1 steals per game
Dillard went 8-3 last season in what was very much a start-and-stop season that featured nine postponements or cancelations and a season that didn't officially start until January of 2021. The program returns seven letter winners and adds seven new members to the squad this season. Among the returners is Moore (13.6 points and 5.8 rebounds per game), Billingsley (13.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game) and August (7.2 points and 8.1 rebounds per game). The team also returns Mekai Pope, Crawford, Carmouche, Shemar Bates and Elijah Pittman. The program also added seven newcomers in Kenneth Bates, Mason, Malone, Cinque Harris, Ikem Okeke-Oraeki, Kaleb Allison and Melvin Baker.
Coach Newell is in his seventh season at the helm of the program and has led Dillard to three NAIA National Championship appearances (2016-18) in his time at the school. The Bleu Devils have won five titles since his arrival in 2015, which includes two conference regular season titles (2017-18) and three consecutive tournament titles (2016-18). Under Newell, Dillard is 105-69 and 48-22 in conference play. He has 19 winning seasons, including nine seasons with 20 or more wins. In his 26 seasons as a head coach, Newell has amassed an overall record of 433-341.
About the Philander Smith College Panthers
The program's head coach is Todd Day Sr. Day is in his fifth year running the team. He is a former college basketball star at the University of Arkansas when they won an NCAA National Championship in the early 1990s. PSC is off to a 13-5 start the season and have mark of 5-1 in GCAC play. The school is based in Little Rock, Arkansas and will host the 2022 GCAC Basketball Championships this season. Evan Council is tied for team lead at 13.6 points per game. Robert Jordan is also getting 13.6 points per game. Kenneth Perkins is reaching double figures at 11.8 points per game. He is the leading rebounder at 7.6 rebounds per game. Aaron Johnson is putting up 9.1 points and 17 steals. Dontrell Johnson is picked up 7.1 points per game. Rayonte Childs is averaging 6.2 points a contest. PSC is 9-1 at home and defeated Dillard 63-48 on Jan. 27. The program has a mark of 4-4 in road games.
About the Rust College Bearcats
The program's interim head coach is their current athletic director Jarvis Stephens. The school is based on Holly Springs, Miss. The team is being led this season by Ronald Strothers. Strothers is getting 12 points per game. Malik Anderson is averaging 11.4 points per game. Christopher Agbo is the leading rebounder at 5.5 rebounds per game. The team is 7-4 at home this season. Dillard earned the 83-75 victory over Rust the last time these teams met in Dent Hall on Feb. 3.
After the two games this week, Dillard is off to Little Rock, Arkansas to participate in the GCAC Basketball Championships from Feb. 25-27. The team's seeding and times of competition will be determined upon the conclusion of the regular season on Monday.
Keep up with all the latest news and information on the Bleu Devils by following Dillard Athletics on Twitter at @GeauxDU, Facebook at Facebook.com/dillardbleudevils/ and Instagram at Instagram.com/dillardbleudevils/
