The LaGrange men's basketball team tips off its 2017-18 season tonight at Penn State-Altoona as part of the Coaches vs. Cancer Tournament in Altoona, Pennsylvania. The Panthers are coming off an 18-11 season where they made their fourth straight trip to the NCAA Division III tournament and captured their third USA South Tournament title in the past four years.
Coach Kendal Wallace is entering his seventh season leading the Panthers. He needs three more wins to reach 100 in his career. Wallace's 97 wins are the third most by an LC coach.
Senior guard Alex Bonner is coming off of a very successful junior season, having already established himself as a top player in the USA South. He was named the Most Valuable Player at last season's USA South Conference Tournament. In the tournament, Bonner averaged 15.3 points, 7.0 rebounds, and 1.3 steals per game, while shooting a sizzling 59 percent from the field. Bonner is poised to join the elite 1,000 Point Club. He needs 101 points to reach the career milestone.
Junior forward Elijah Adedoyin started 21 games for the Panthers last season, averaging 11.5 points per game. Fellow junior forward TravisThompson started 14 of 29 games played, averaging 8.1 points and 3.7 rebounds per game.
Penn State-Altoona is coached by former LaGrange assistant coach David McGreal, who is starting his second season. The Lions opened their season with an 85-74 loss to Saint Vincent on Wednesday. McGreal led the Lions to a 14-14 record last season, including 12-6 in the Allegheny Mountain Collegiate Conference. The 14 wins tied for the most in school history and the 12 conference victories were the most in a season.
The Panthers will face either Mount Aloysius or Juniata on Saturday.
