TUSKEGEE, Ala. | The months of preparation are now complete, and basketball season is ready to kick off this weekend in the form of the CIAA/SIAC Challenge.
 
The tournament kicks off Friday night at 5:30 pm (cst) with Johnson C. Smith facing Morehouse; followed 30 minutes after by Tuskegee and Fayetteville State. All of the games will be inside Chappie James Arena.

Admission is $5 for the general public (ages five and under are free), while Tuskegee University students and faculty/staff are free with an ID. Any additional persons coming in with Tuskegee University students and faculty/staff will be charged regular price.
 
The Tuskegee University Golden Tigers, fresh off of a 15-13 record in 2014-15 under then-first year head coach Jerry Dunn, return five players from last year's team. Those five players return 717 points (41.5%), 372 rebounds (46.1%), and 192 assists (60.6%).
 
Kevin May is one of three seniors returning this season, and was selected to the Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (SIAC) Preseason Team this year. He led the team in steals and assists last season, and finished tied for fourth in the SIAC in assists per game. He also finished third in the SIAC in steals per game during his junior campaign.
 
Meanwhile, Camden Foster also returns after finishing fourth on the team in scoring at 9.8 points per game, scoring in double figures 11 times – including 26 against Johnson C. Smith last season. James Vinson is the other senior returning this season for the Golden Tigers, scoring in double figures four times while playing in 25 games in a reserve role last season.
 
The Golden Tigers also have seven new players on this year's team, a team that will have four players at 6'6" or taller as the season begins.
 
SCOUTING THE OPPOSITION
Fayetteville State – The Broncos return four players from last year's team, and of the four players they have returning from last season they return 714 points from last season (30.1%). Fayetteville State finished 16-13 overall and 8-8 in the CIAA last season, the .500 record placed the Broncos sixth in the East Division last season. Joshua Dawson returns for the Broncos, averaging 14.4 points per game last season, while scoring 403 total points - both tops on the team. Dawson shot 40.2 (102-of-254) percent of his shots from the floor, including shooting 32.7 (32-of-98) percent of his shots from beyond the arc. Dawson was fourth leading rebounder last season, averaging 4.1 rebounds per game, while also dishing out a team-high 186 assists. Also returning from last season is Carl McCray who scored 287 total points and nearly averaged double figures at 9.9 points per game. He shot a team-high (for 100 or more shots) 46 (104-of-226) percent of his shots from the floor, including shooting 42.5 (31-of-73) percent of three-point opportunities.
 
Johnson C. Smith – Returning for JCSU is All-CIAA selection Stedmon Lemon who led JCSU in scoring in 2014-15, with 14.3 points per game.  He also had 3.5 rebounds per game and connected for 49.7% of his field goal attempts, including a 36.4% mark from three-point range. Also returning is sophomore guard Robert Davis, III, who started in all but one game as a freshman, logging 31.9 minutes per game.  Davis also led JCSU in free throw shooting, connecting for 82.7% (110-133) of his attempts.  He also shot 43.4% from the field and dished out a team-high 136 assists.  Senior Diondre Prattalso returns after an excellent junior season where he averaged 7.2 points and 4.9 rebounds per game, leading JCSU in total rebounds (136. He also shot 51.4% from the field and 73.5% from the free throw line.  Pratt also led JCSU in blocks with 49. In his 29th year on the bench for the Golden Bulls, head coach Stephen Joyner, Sr. is quickly approaching the 500-win milestone.  Joyner, the all-time leader in CIAA wins, enters the 2015-16 season with an overall mark of 497-308.
 
Morehouse – Tyrone Brown and Tyrius Walker were named to the SIAC 2015-16 Preseason Basketball Team. Similarly unsurprising, the Maroon Tigers were projected to finish third in the East Division. Because Brown and Walker finished last year on the All-SIAC team, they were automatic selections to the preseason team. Walker was last season's SIAC Freshman of the Year. The freshman, from Atlanta's Grady High School, led Morehouse in scoring, assists and steals and became the team's go-to player down the stretch. Brown led Morehouse in rebounding, with 7.5 rpg, and was second in scoring, with 9.7 ppg. SIAC basketball coaches predicted that Morehouse would finish behind Benedict and Paine in the East. Last season, the Maroon Tigers finished at 16-12 and advanced to the semifinals of the conference tournament, where they lost, 60-58, to eventual champion Benedict. Nearly the entire team returns from last year. The only major loss was shooting guard Austin Anderson, who graduated.
 
Live stats will be provided for each contest during the CIAA/SIAC Challenge, and can be found by clicking here for Tournament Central.

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