The NCAA season tipped-off!

Yesterday was the start of the NCAA season and already we saw some very nice performances from our Belgian representatives.

The UCSB Gauchos tipped off their season with a nice 75-59 win over San Francisco State. Ajay Mitchell got the starting nod and responded with a 10 pts & 10 asts Double-Double, while also adding 4 rebs & 2 stls in a total of 27 minutes played. Unfortunately he did struggle somewhat with his shooting as he only knocked down 3 of his 10 attempts (1 of 5 from behind the arc) and also added 6 turnovers.

The Weber State Wildcats saw their season start with a 69-52 loss on the road against Washington. In his first game with Weber State Belgian guard Steven Verplancken did his thing though and ended up with 12 points on 4/9 FG shooting, including 2/5 from behind the arc as he got the starting nod and played a total of 29 minutes.

The Houston Christian University Huskies (formerly Houston Baptist) tipped-off their season with a 77-66 loss on the road against FIU. Forward Sam Hofman got the starting nod and led the team with his 10 rebounds to go along with 7 pts and 4 asts in his 22 minutes of action.

The Dayton Flyers had no issues in their season home-opener as they defeated Lindenwood with the 73-46 final score. Belgian forward Toumani Camara was again a jack-of-all-trades, ending up with 6 pts, a team-leading 11 rebs, 2 asts, 2 stls and 2 blks in 30 minutes of action as a starter.

The Stetson Hatters got their season started with a nice 74-83 win at Florida State. For the Hatters our two Belgian representatives got into action. Point Guard Stephan Dibongue Swenson got the starting nod and added 8 pts, 3 rebs, 7 asts & 1 stl in 23 minutes of action, while Big Man Aubin Gateretse came off the bench to record 4 pts, 1 reb, 1 stl & 1 blk in 12 minutes of playing time.

In a close game the Kansas City Roos led almost the entire game but eventually gave away their lead in the closing minutes as they fell to Lincoln (MO) with the 56-59 final score. In his first game with the Roos Allen Mukeba immediately showed why they signed him in the first place, finishing with the 13 pts & 12 rebs Double-Double, while also blocking a game-high 3 shots in 33 minutes of action as a starter. His younger brother Logan Mukeba did not get any playing time.

NJCAA:

In the NJCAA the action has started at the end of October for most schools. Let’s see how our Belgian youngsters are doing so far:

Daniel Bula (Western Nebraska): In his first game in the USA Bula immediately showed his skills as he helped his team to the lobsided 101-58 win against Adams State Junior Varsity. Bula came off the bench and played a total of 20 minutes in which he scored 14 pts and added 4 rebs, 1 ast, 1 stl & 1 blk.

Tom Mark (Tallahassee): In his first game with the Tallahassee Eagles, Mark got the starting nod and helped them to the win at Florida Manatee-Sarasota with his 13 pts, 8 rebs & 2 blks.

Samuel Swolfs (Otero): In 3 games the freshman guard has helped Otero to a 2-1 record, averaging 3.0 ppg, 2.0 apg & 2.3 spg coming off the bench. He had a season-high 7 pts & 4 stls in the win against Nationwide Academy.

Manu Musemena (Mineral Area): As their starting guard Musemena is having a solid start of the season, helping his team to a 2-1 record so far, while averaging 8.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg, 1.7 apg & 1.7 spg. He had his best game in the season opening win against Missouri Baptist when he finished with 13 pts & 4 asts.

Tom Di Maria (Santa Fe): In his first season in the States Di Maria had a solid start, recording 7 pts, 5 rebs, 3 asts & 2 stls in 20 minutes of action in the season-opening win against PHS Academy. Unfortunately in the second game of the season, Di Maria only played 5 minutes in which he was unable to score.

Hugo Mattioli (Panola): Mattioli has come off the bench so far, helping his team to a 3-0 record as he’s averaging 6.0 ppg, getting all of his point from behind the arc as he’s currenly 6-17 (35%) on his 3-pt shots.

Reumang Emagna (Cuesta): In the season opening win against West Hills Lemoore, Emagna came off the bench and recorded 2 pts & 5 rebs in 17 minutes of action.

Vic De Wilde (Lamar): In 2 games so far this season De Wilde is averaging 5.0 ppg, 2.0 rpg & 2.5 apg, while playing 21.0 mpg as Lamar currently holds a 0-2 record.

NAIA:

Alan Kikwaki (Dakota Wesleyan): Inserted into the starting line-up in both of their games so far Kikwaki is having a solid start of the season, averaging 14.0 ppg, 7.5 rpg & 1.0 bpg, while playing 33.5 mpg, helping Dakota Wesleyan to a 1-1 record.